Pay It Forward!

For whatever reason, the blogging community (and it is definitely a community, as I've come to learn) is rife with contests. I've mentioned a few of them on my site, as it's always fun for people to win things -- and some of them would be really cool to win; who couldn't use a bouncy house? Or popcorn? Or a really fancy schmancy Brighton handbag (yep, week 2 of the SITS six weeks of summer)? Or heck, twenty days of giveaways? (See the button to your left. No, your other left -- there, click it!)

I've talked about other people doing contests, and I sort of feel like I should reciprocate in some way. Mostly because of all that good Catholic guilt I had placed upon me as I was growing up. But much like I delayed blogging because I didn't have the faith in myself that I could do it and thus kept putting it off, I've delayed holding a contest of my own.

Enter Swistle. She has what I think is a great idea. She's hosting a Pay It Forward contest where we're all starting the paying it forward. Essentially, you enter my contest here. Whoever wins is then obligated to host a pay it forward contest where they give something away and whoever wins that contest is thusly obligated, etc. It's kind of a virtuous circle, if you will. And I like being virtuous.

What's my prize? I don't know yet. And thankfully, I don't have to know yet, which is part of the fun. I can promise that it will be an at least somewhat cool package -- which means more than one item. I may even get creative enough to have a theme.

How do you enter? All you have to do is post a comment below. In your comment, tell me a little about a childhood pet. If you didn't have one, tell me why you didn't (I'm just curious -- no novels needed, just a brief overview). One entry per person.

Who's eligible? Because this requires paying it forward, only bloggers will be able to enter (sorry for any reader without a blog -- but hey, good time to start a blog, no?). And because I can only commit to paying postage in the States, I'll request that you be located in the US (although I don't think I really have any international readers anyway).

How will a winner be chosen? I'll use a random number generator and whoever has that number comment wins. Ta-da!

When does the contest end? The contest will go through Friday July 4 at ohh around 8pm CST. (Note: I obviously have children too small to take to fireworks. What a bummer!) Get your comment in before then! Friday night I'll post the winner... and if I'm lucky, the prize, too! Or maybe it will be a total surprise to the winner. It depends on how busy I get this week.

Oh, and like I said... this is a group effort. Go check out all the other contests that bloggers have put together for this pay it forward hoopla! Good luck!

Are You Saucy?

I’ve mentioned The Secret Is In The Sauce once before and how cool I thought the concept was.

They’re verging on dangerous now. Every day, they feature a new blogger who I’d otherwise never come into contact with. And I keep having to add more absolutely hilarious blogs to those I read. The downfall is that I have a limit as to how much I can read, and I can’t just stop reading some of them. So if I’m behind on reading your blog, blame SITS. Unless I started reading your blog because of SITS in which case it’s a blessing and a curse!

They’ve also helped me discover what I’m going to get my mom for her birthday (July 1, so I’m starting to run out of time!). Check out this way so cool necklace that they featured – and gave away, although not to me – recently.

And now, they’re giving away a bouncy house! As you saw from my post yesterday, my kids rather enjoy jumping. Plus, it’s a nice pseudo-therapy for Mister Man. And ok, so maybe I love the fact that they both took four hour naps yesterday after spending two hours jumping. I soooo want this!

If you haven’t stopped over at SITS before, go check them out. Community is key, and they’re developing a great one. Besides, apparently this finding cool things to give away is gaining momentum. If you haven’t become a SITS girl by now, it may be time to rethink it (and yes, they allow men, too, before you ask!). Tell them I sent you. All you have to do is grab their banner and put it on your blog. Then show up, roll call and go enjoy some good bloggy writing. If I can figure out how to do it, anyone can!