Category Archives: Contests

Contests, Randonymity

Abysmally behind in thank yous

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Picture me wringing my hands in the finest White Rabbit fashion! But before I start the thank yous, here are a few contests and a giveaway of interest:

For your chance to win a skein of Lucky Lucy sock yarn, leave a comment at Wendy Knits by 4 pm EDT, April 30.

If you’re a Bob Dylan fan, head on over to Largehearted Boy for your chance to win a pretty amazing Bob Dylan prize pack. Make sure you leave your comment before midnight CDT, May 1.

Win the first six audiobooks of James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club series from Hatchette Books at J. Kaye’s Book Blog. (Please note that winners will not be notified by email – you will need to check back at the blog on May 30 to see if you’ve won.)

Barnes & Noble is giving away The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in mp3, plus eight mp3 short stories from authors such as Alice Munro, Elizabeth Berg, and Kurt Vonnegut. You do have to install their download software. This giveaway ends 2:59 am EDT, May 16.

Working back from the present… I won a contest over at the Knitting Doctor for leaving a comment that made the Knitting Doctor laugh out loud. My prize was a gorgeous skein of STR Raven in the Lenore colorway. Thank you!

“It doesn’t smell like a bird. I think you got ripped off, Mom.” -Mayhem

Ahem. Brigitte sent me some lovely goodies, including a gorgeous skein of sock yarn, some of her precious three-ply Hebridean yarn (it’s purple, Marina, so back off! 😉 ), skin care goodies (Brigitte and I both have very sensitive skin), kitty toys, a Toronto t-shirt, breath spray that claims I’ll instantly feel Canadian when I use it, and a very handy book…

“My goodness, what are these? They are much, much larger than my furry mice toys. Maybe they are elephants.” -Mayhem

“Mmmm… olive oil stuff.” -Chaos

…The Action Heroine’s Handbook! Click to embiggen and discover some of the useful skills this book teaches. Thanks, Brigitte!

I sent Maeve some bibs and baby music and she sent me a lovely card and book as a thank you. Hmm. I wonder why she thought I might like this book? 😉 Thank you, Maeve!

MamaTulip and MrsPao sent packages that arrived on the same day! From MamaT (on the left), a book that came highly recommended, a funny card, and book and coffee journals. From MrsPao (on the right), and assortment of tasty treats, a funny postcard, a lovely journal, a mystery, and kitty toys. Thanks to both of you!

*sniff sniff sniff* -Mayhem

Can’t really see the kitty toys?

“Sheepy mouse?!” -Mayhem

That colorful ping pong ball has become a particular favorite of Chaos’. MrsPao also sent another box (we’ve been sending each other treats that can’t be found in our home countries) with more tasty treats, a book, and a lovely card. Thanks again!

“Is this entire stack the same thing? Sheesh, Mom, you must really like these weird flat crunchy things. Are they made from nip or something?” -Mayhem

“Don’t mind me – I’m just here to obstruct the picture.” -Chaos

Contests, Linkity linkity link

O noes! WurdPrez iz brokz agin

21 Comments

This will make writing a linkity-linkity-link post more than usually exciting. Don’t be surprised if this post stops mid-sentence. Gah.

Paula’s celebrating her blogiversary with a contest – leave her a comment by midnight CDT, April 25, for your chance to win books or sock yarn. And check out her cute lamp – a mini-spinning wheel with moving parts!

Help Teyani’s choral group go to Carnegie Hall to perform! By making a tax-deductible donation to their travel fund by May 26, you will be entered in a drawing for some wonderful prizes, such as yarn and gift certificates.

The book What Would Jane Austen Do? sounds like a good read for Amy and Jeanne, among others. You can leave a comment at RR@H Novel Thoughts for your chance to win a copy.

Author Barbara Bretton is giving away one of those spiffy new Knit Kits to a lucky entrant on April 25.

Author Meljean Brook’s clearing off her shelves – leave her a comment for your chance to win a copy of The Romance Readers’ Book Club.

Check out Marsha’s links to unusual things to knit – from bicycles to mushrooms to a horse head. Peruse the other links at the AntiCraft when you go to gawk at the horse head, particularly if you’ve always wanted to knit a Lovecraftian Elder God. Please note that some links at the AntiCraft are definitely NSFW, such as this one. *blink blink*

And now we really know where socks go when they’re lost in the wash.

Amy does some great photoblogging all over Minnesota – check out her posts about touring nearby Lakeland Cemetary (guaranteed you’ll recognize more than one name) and some of the other historic sights near downtown Minneapolis. (And now you’re probably all wondering why you haven’t seen pictures of all those things here that are all less than three miles from my condo…)

Wow – it costs $185.49 to build a Kindle2.

Thanks to kmkat for pointing me to this WSJ article about how the ebook will change the way we read and write. Not that I completely agree with the author, but it’s an interesting article nonetheless.

For those of you who boldly tweet at work, here’s a way to use Twitter at work and not get caught – it looks like an Excel spreadsheet. (Please note that SoC takes no responsibility if you try this and do get caught tweeting at work.)

And here are six ways that Lifehacker thinks you should be using Twitter.

This Honeywell email ad from 1977 is hysterical – especially with the Gizmodo commentary: “I can see why it took another 25 years to attract a mainstream following.”

The migraine in art?!

Although this under-sofa storage idea is brilliant (and would work with my futon couch and chair), I think the kitties would be very unhappy if they couldn’t sneak around under the furniture anymore.

“Hmm. I feel unaccountably nervous.” -Chaos

*furry malevolence* -Mayhem

Contests, Reading, Reviewettes

Hopefully the technical difficulties are past…

28 Comments

…but I’m not holding my breath. Blue’s not a good look for me. 😉

Want to win a copy of The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance? Leave a comment letting author Meljean Brook know what your favorite short story is.

Leave a comment at Largehearted Boy by midnight CDT, April 24, for your chance to win a copy of the Wilco dvds Ashes of American Flags and I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, plus “an assortment of surprise books and cds.”

Nicole’s giving away books 3-6 of J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood to someone who doesn’t mind covering media mail postage. I recommend this series to any vampire romance aficionados.

Leave a comment at Darque Reviews by the morning of April 28 for your chance to win copies of Jocelynn Drake’s books Nightwalker and Dayhunter.

A Braille ebook reader – very cool!

Arrrr – I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for The Guide to Pirate Parenting, right? Especially Deb. Deb lurves pirates. Probably you should all go and leave your very best piratey comments for her right now. I’ll wait. (No need to thank me, Deb. Really.)

The Top 10 Lies of the Romance Novel Hero/Heroine. *snort*

Listen to Alan Rickman reading Sonnet 130.

Listen to Neil Gaiman read his lovely book The Blueberry Girl, which I think is a wonderful book to give to the parents of daughters.

Reading Update
The Darkest Pleasure (Lords of the Underworld, Book 3) by Gena Showalter. And now I wait until the fourth book comes out in a few months… Is it out yet? No? How about now?
Soul Song, The Last Twilight, and The Wild Road (Dirk & Steele, Books 6-8) by Marjorie M. Liu. The Wild Road was a reread and I have to say I got a lot more out of it after reading the preceding books! I’m really enjoying this well-done series about the paranormal detective agency of Dirk & Steele and again, I wait for the next book. *taps foot*
Bone Crossed (Mercy Thompson, Book 4) by Patricia Briggs. This continues to be an excellent urban fantasy/paranormal romance series about coyote shifter Mercy and the other paranormal denizens of the Tri-Cities area (most of whom seem to have grudges against Mercy).
Everlasting Bad Boys by Shelly Laurentson, Cynthia Eden, and Noelle Mack. I couldn’t get into the dragon story by Shelly Laurentson, so I didn’t read it. The witch’n’demon story by Cynthia Eden was ok. The story by Noelle Mack about a man made of electricity was so punny, it was a bit painful.
You’re So Vein (The Others, Book 7) by Christine Warren. Speaking of punny… fortunately, the punniness here doesn’t extend beyond the title. If you’ve been keeping up with Christine Warren’s Others, this is a solid addition to the series. And you’d be right that this one focuses on vampires. 🙂
Caught (Gemini Men) by Jami Alden. This is the first in what will be three scorching hot romantic suspense novels about the three Taggert brothers who run Gemini, a security and private investigation agency.
Succubus Dreams (Georgina Kincaid, Book 3) by Richelle Mead. This continues to be a good series about Seattle succubus and bookstore manager, Georgina Kincaid. I got very sniffly at the end.
Don of the Dead (Pepper Martin Mysteries, Book 1) by Casey Daniels. Fashionista Pepper Martin sees dead people. Dead people who can’t rest easily because they have unfinished business they need resolved. A good start to an intriguing series, with the requisite two elusive love interests – one a cop, one not.
You Don’t Know Jack by Erin McCarthy. This is one of McCarthy’s fun contemporary romances, with absolutely no paranormality in sight.
Private Lies by Amy Eastlake. This romantic suspense ebook was a freebie download. Choppy, some plot holes, and definitely could’ve used some editing and formatting… but I did get sucked into the story about a CIA operative, hackers, and terrorists.
Black Cat by Cat Johnson. Freebie download paranormal romance ebook short story that was kinda cute in a steamy sort of way.
Enforcer and Reluctant (Cascadia Wolves, Books 1-2) by Lauren Dane. Very steamy ebook series about a pack of werewolves in Washington State.

*mouse mouse mouse mouse mouse mouse mouse* -Mayhem

Contests, Knitting

In which I start a sweater and everyone is underwhelmed by the pictures

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Sorry about having the comments turned off for those of you who stopped by bright and early Wednesday morning. I’m still not sure how I managed that one. Just gifted, I guess. 😉

Go help JessaLu break her personal best for number of comments on a post and you could win a skein of sock yarn or hank of roving. Leave your comments before midnight EDT today (April 16).

I’ve actually started a sweater for myself! It’s the zip-front hoodie from Knit So Fine: Designs with Skinny Yarn.

I may or may not actually knit the hood. I have a lot of time to decide on that, since I’m knitting the sweater on US3s from the bottom, using black Jaeger Trinity, which is a discontinued cotton/silk/nylon blend. At the rate I’m knitting, I should finish this sweater in 2011 or so.

Want to see the cables in detail?

Clicking on it won’t help. But I’ll wait while you verify that. Yup, I bet you’re already looking forward to the next two years worth of progress pictures on this project, eh?

*sniff sniff sniff* “This is not a sock.” -Mayhem

“But this yarn does smell awfully tasty…” -Mayhem

*sound of me rushing to rescue project before Mayhem creates more ends*

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

“Are you going to read just paranormals until your brain falls out?”

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The title of today’s post was an actual quote from someone working at Uncle Hugo’s yesterday. And the scary thing? I only buy a fraction of the paranormals I read at Uncle Hugo’s. I check out most from the library, buy some at the library “withdrawn” store, and win quite a few, too. (Um, I might’ve won a couple more books yesterday. Whoops.)

Jen’s having a contest – look at the picture, try not to shriek, answer the poll, then leave a comment to be entered for a chance to win some pretty stitchmarkers. Contest closes 8 pm EDT, April 16.

You probably know I’m a big fan of bookstands. Here’s some info on how to make one yourself – the inspiration in this case was for an ebook reader, but I think you could adapt this to more traditional books. For ebook readers, I would suggest that you add something so that the reader doesn’t slip from side to side. For my beloved ReadUpon, I’m going to use a bit of rubbery shelf liner.

Looking for book information? ISDNdb.com looks very handy indeed.

Now that Barnes & Noble has acquired Fictionwise, there are rumors about a B&N ebook reader. Whatever happens with that, I’ll remain a proponent of ebook readers (like the EZ Reader) that focus on reading a wide variety of formats.

Sure, it’s a darn attractive bookcase, but it really doesn’t look like an efficient use of space to me. Now, these Tetris bookcases are another story…

Have a bike trainer or exercise bike without a book holder? Add one yourself.

Beware the dreaded vampire kitteh!

Hee hee – go Powell’s! Take advantage of the #powellswin special, which is 20% of any order over $20 if you use the #powellswin code before 11:59 pm PDT, April 16.

You’ll notice that my reading update looks a bit different today. Instead of using Amazon for my book links, I’ve started using IndieBound. By doing this, I’m able to support indie bookstores and to reduce, in my own tiny way, dependence on a megalithic bookseller. I got this idea from Dear Author and the Smart Bitches, whose explanations are far more eloquent than my own (yup, more fallout from #amazonfail). (Please note that if there isn’t cover art, the book was not available via IndieBound. Ebooks will be linked from BooksOnBoard if possible.)

Reading Update
Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches Guide To Romance Novels by Sarah Wendell & Candy Tan. Written with humor, irreverence, and an obvious love for the wide wild world of romance novels, this book is hellagood snarky delight. Ranging from serious to silly and back again, the Smart Bitches reveal (pun intended) and revel in the genre’s excesses. It was a damn fun read, with enough insightful critical bits to keep things interesting. Plus there are coloring pages! A Choose-Your-Own-Ending Romance with paranormal, Regency, pirate, and contemporary paths! Mad-Libs! Controversy! And even a board game!
The Druid Made Me Do It by Natale Stenzel. Doesn’t it just figure – that hot one-night stand (who vanished in the middle of the night without a word) from vacation eight years ago turns out to be a puca and the local Druid leader puts you in charge of his reformation… (Hello! You aren’t even a Druid.)
Real Vamps Don’t Drink O-Neg by Tawny Taylor. So-so paranormal romance featuring vampires and lamiae. Very, very steamy stuff. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
The Darkest Fire (Lords of the Underworld) by Gena Showalter. ebook short. Prequel to the Lords of the Underworld series. Interesting background information, but definitely not as smooth as the actual series.
The Darkest Night and The Darkest Kiss (Lords of the Underworld, Books 1-2) by Gena Showalter. These are really absorbing and well-written books about immortal warriors who were forced to house all the evils that escaped Pandora’s box (such as Death, Pain, Violence, etc).
Shadow Touch (Dirk & Steele, Book 2) by Marjorie M. Liu. Skipped this one earlier because I had trouble finding it. Continues to be a recommended series about the paranormal detective agency of Dirk & Steele.

“So you think he’s really cute, Mom?” -Mayhem

“Let’s see if he passes my snuggle test.” -Mayhem

“I’m sorry to break it to you, Mom, but he’s just not furry enough.” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link

The one that may cause nightmares

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Gladys of the Yarn Floozies is holding a raffle of some pretty amazing yarn (Wollmeise, anyone?) to support her husband’s Ride2Survive cancer fundraising bicycle ride this summer. For your chance to win (and to support a great cause), enter by 8 pm PST, April 26.

Wendy’s giving away a copy of One Ball Knits: Purses. Leave a comment by 4 pm EDT, April 16, for your chance to win.

Have you been following the #amazonfail kerfluffle at all? Whoops.

Speaking of online reputation, Lifehacker has some info on how to monitor your own. I’m particularly interested in this topic because I wrote my Master’s thesis (Rhetoric) about online ethos (that is, your character and credibility online).

Squee! LMAO. Here’s one for the Linux geeks. Hmm – I think you should get very, very nervous at this point.

I don’t think we’re ready for the Knitputer yet, do you? Unless it’s like this way to calculate set-in sleeves, that is.

Knitting Peeps!

If you’re a garage/yard sale junkie, the Yard Sale Treasure Map should streamline your plan of attack.

Just when you’ve given up on the future of humanity, there’s a story like this.

I recommend that you print this out before beginning your time travel journey.

Turn yourself or your pet (or really, anyone) into a Terminator! (May cause nightmares. Whoops.)

Eeep! Hope I survive the night…

Contests, Reading, Reviewettes

Contested books

25 Comments

If you donate to Heifer International from April 8 through 15 and let Teabird know, you will have a chance to win an audiobook of Dewey, the Small Town Library Cat Who Changed the World and a “companion yarny surprise.”

Not all sales are going down in the current economic climate – sales of romances are going up. And paranormals continue to be a hot sell, whether they’re romances or young adult.

Reading Update
At the Edge by Cait London. So-so romantic suspense about a set of psychic triplets. It felt like the author was maybe trying to be Nora Roberts, but her choppy writing style just can’t compare to the Nora. This was obviously the first in a series, but I have no interest in reading the other books – and you know how I can suffer mediocre writing to follow a series! 🙂
The Rocky Road to Romance by Janet Evanovich. This is one of her rereleased oldies, probably most interesting for the things that were lifted directly for the Stephanie Plum series. Grandma Mazur and her gun, the big old powder blue Cadillac that Stephanie gets stuck driving periodically, Bob the dog – they’re all here.
Crash Into Me by Jill Sorenson. Very intense and definitely recommended romantic suspense about an FBI agent and a SoCal surfer.
Casual Hex by Vicki Lewis Thompson. This was the third book in this series about the magical town of Big Knob (ahem), Indiana, complete with a witch, wizard, lake monster, dragon, fairy prince, and poker-playing raccoons.
Drop Dead Gorgeous (Harlequin Blaze) by Kimberly Raye. Yes, another in this series about cowboy biker vampires who run a custom chopper shop in a small Texas town. At this point, I’m just curious to see whether they’ll ever find the Ancient One and be freed of their vampirism.
Hotter After Midnight by Cynthia Eden. Very steamy and well-done paranormal romance about a psychologist to supernatural beings.
When He Was Bad by Cynthia Eden and Shelly Laurenston. A pair of decent paranormal romance novellas about shifters and the women who get used to having them around.
Here Kitty, Kitty by Shelly Laurenston. ebook. So-so paranormal romance about lions and tigers and wolves,  oh my! Laurenston’s newer stuff seems better.
Coyote’s Mate (Coyote Breeds, Book 2) by Lora Leigh. You shouldn’t have to sniffle and weep during an er0tic paranormal romance. It just seems wrong. Well-written and extremely involving – as evidenced by the aforementioned sniffling.
Hell’s Belles by Jackie Kessler. Runaway succubus Jezebel manages to get turned into a human and is hiding out in NYC. I’m definitely reading more of this series.
My Immortal (The Immortals, Book 1) by J. K. Coi. ebook. I like the premise of Immortal demon hunters, but I gotta hope that the writing and editing of this series improves. Silly things like someone’s t-shirt changing from white to black between pages are sloppy and disruptive.
Immortal Kiss and Dark Immortal (The Immortals, Books 2-3) by J. K. Coi. ebooks. Much better than the first book! Definitely some Dark-Hunter inspiration going on in this series.

Some have observed that I have special book contest winning luck. Hmm. Pictured below are most of the books I’ve won since February. (I loaned Angel’s Blood to Jeanne and I think there are at least three books still on their way to me.) So, what do you think?

Hmm. Maybe so.

“I don’t know what the big deal is about books. Most of them bore me.” -Mayhem

“I mean, ok, some of them are tasty, but then Mom starts yelling at me. Really, it’d be better if she didn’t have them around. How’s a panther girl supposed to resist that sort of temptation?” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link

Lurkity lurkity lurker

23 Comments

Leave a comment for Kristi to help her celebrate her blogiversary and you could win a copy of her very cute sweater pattern (specifically designed for boy toddlers). Leave your comments by midnight EDT, April 9.

Largehearted Boy is giving away a zombie novel prize package that will include some other goodies, too. (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is part of this prize!) Leave a comment by midnight CDT, April 10, for your chance to win.

Looking for more information on all things ebook? The MobileRead Wiki is a great place to start.

Oh oh…

This was an eye-opening look at perceived threats. Our greatest danger? Ourselves…

Hard to believe that The Matrix came out ten years ago.

How to cast on stitches at the end of a row and end up with nice edges – from TECHKnitting, of course.

Check out how tiny the 9″ HiyaHiya circular needles are – they fit into an Altoids tin!

Turn a business card into an earbud winder via origami.

As our thoughts turn to spring, maybe this inexpensive trellis is just what you need to increase your vegetable growing space.

Excellent – research actually supports that some leisure-related internet browsing while you’re at work can increase your productivity.

What evil lurks in the heart of kitteh?

Hmm. Maybe it’s best to retract that question…

Alongs, Contests, Festing, Gluten Free, KALs, Recipes

In which I reveal how to pronounce “quinoa”

33 Comments

The Knitting Doctor is celebrating her five-year blogiversary with a contest! Simply leave a comment about your favorite knitting gadget before midnight PDT, April 5, for your chance to win a mysterious prize.

Sign ups for the Mean Girls Yarn Club, put together by KnottyLa and KnittingKnitterton, open April 3.

This was my favorite April Fools Link from yesterday: Fiction World Rocked as Woman Claims No Sexual Attraction to Neil Gaiman.

Yes, reduced to posting recipes again. 😉

These cookies were originally made with oatmeal – I know you can get oatmeal now that’s certified gluten-free, but my body isn’t so happy with the stuff I’ve tried so far. Besides, quinoa (KEEN-wah) has more protein and is more fun to say than oatmeal!

Unbaked Chocolate Quinoa Cookies
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup milk (I haven’t tried it with soymilk yet)
1/2 cup butter
3 1/2 cups quinoa flakes
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

Combine sugar, cocoa, milk, and butter in a saucepan. Melt over medium heat, then boil for 1 minute. (Keep stirring!)

Remove from heat. Add quinoa, vanilla, and peanut butter and mix well.

Drop by spoonfuls on waxed paper and let cool.

“Go away. I’m sulking. You’d think Mayhem was the only one with a cute tummy or something. Hmph.” -Chaos

Contests, Linkity linkity link

Don’t get Fooled again

28 Comments

Interested in winning a limited edition of Stephen King Goes To the Movies? Head over to Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist for information on entering.

Knitting inspiration??! (I hope not. I’d hate to have stage an intervention.)

Today is the last day to sign up for E’s vampire-themed music swap at swap-bot! You then have up to an entire month to make your mix.

*blink blink* I wonder what the city of Chicago thought when they received this pothole sponsorship idea from KFC?! I know I thought, “WTF?!” when I read about it.

Maybe it’s time to take control of that out-of-control tangle of cords on the counter and make a charging station.

Hey, Jeanne, I think I have an idea for our next crazy non-knitting craft project! Wouldn’t these make great gifts?

The toaster is 100 years old! Those first models sure look dangerous now, don’t they? I’m a big fan of this humble appeliance, since I have peanut butter toast nearly every morning for breakfast. Sometime I’ll have to pull my two vintage toasters out of the closet and take pictures of them. They’re very handy for the gluten-free traveler who can’t take advantage of a hotel’s continental breakfast.

O noes! The Ashbys are departing. *sniff*

Black kitty camouflage at its finest, indeed.

Nifty kitty mobile – I wonder how it stands up to curious black kitties who would think it a cat toy?

As someone who can’t handle the strong perfumes in most carpet deodorizers, I definitely see the appeal in making my own special kitty safe mix.

Psst – I certainly won’t rat you out if you bookmark How to Fake a Clean House in a Pinch.

Trying to save money? Consumerist has a list of seven things that often aren’t worth the expense.

If you’re interested in getting a free online education, Lifehacker has a list of the top ten tools to do so.

Looking for great travel deals? Get Rich Slowly has a fine list of online resources.

“Why, yes, I am a panther princess girl, the cutest there ever was!” -Mayhem

Hmm. Maybe the only there ever was? 😉