Giveaway Update
It seems that a few folk have had trouble getting into Talented Hubby’s RedBubble.com gallery. This is not a linking fault but something RedBubble was fiddling with internally. Never fear. Unless you have indicated otherwise, your entry will still be considered valid and if you win, you can peruse at your leisure once the giveaway has ended :)
The winner will have three days to respond to an email that I’ll send out and a full month to choose their images :)
Cheers,
Lizzie
Bloggy Giveaway!
Comments have now closed and good luck - the winner will be announced later today (Saturday). I’ve had a blast!
Ooooh, I’m so excited! I get to do something a little different this time! Immediately following the last giveaway carnival I approached Talented Hubby with a request. A semi-professional, part time photographer, I wanted to do a giveaway of one of his images. Now, I may be biased, but his stuff is FANTASTIC. He has held a couple of exhibitions over the last six months which have been well received, and he sells his images via those and online. The problem was, most of my readers are international and shipping a framed or rolled print out of Australia was pretty much out of the question. However…
We’ve discovered we can do something even cooler!
The Prize
The winner will receive his or her choice of FIVE quality photographic cards, shipped anywhere in the world. We’re talking primo quality cardstock and exceptional printing folks (hat tip to RedBubble.com). You are free to use these cards anyway you wish - send them to friends, frame them as a series, whatever - it’s totally your choice. Talented Hubby has a particular affinity for landscapes, seascapes and animal pictures but there are loads of other images to choose from.
The Shake-My-Finger-At-You-Part (Don’t Hate Me!)
Before we get to the requirements for entry, some business. This will be my third giveaway, and while I get a massive, child-like kick out of giving away free stuff, I do want to draw attention to a couple of niggly issues. As is the case with most of the giveaway participants, I get a fair amount of extra traffic and quite a large number of entries. I think this is awesome! What tends to happen however, is that in the rush to ‘get in and get out’ as fast as possible, readers aren’t reading through the entry requirements properly and missing vital information. It takes me a considerable amount of time to sift through the ‘broken’ entries and last time I had to delete 20 entries based solely on readers not following directions. I think most of us giveaway-ers will understand what I mean when I say I completely dig giveaways and it pains me greatly to have to delete some entries, but I feel that this is fairer to the folk who have followed the instructions properly. Secondly, PLEASE remember that auto-bot scraper programs LOVE us giveaway entrants. If you are entering a giveaway this week, remember to enter your email address in this format: lizzies (dot) home (at) hotmail (dot) com. I learned the reasons for this the hard way during the Jan/Feb giveaway when spammers innundated my inbox and I had to change email addresses. It isn’t the fault of the giveaway host, just a fact of life. So be careful. Now, on to the good stuff!
Entry Requirements
- Visit Talented Hubby’s RedBubble.com gallery. Take a few minutes to browse - he has several pages (some of my favourite images - here, here and here). If you want to see what your card might look like, click on the thumbnail to view a larger image, and choose ‘card’ from the menu to the right. You do not need to choose your favourite five images right away - we can do that later if you win - although we’d be thrilled if you include a note about which images you liked the most as a type of informal feedback.
- In the comments section, include a valid email address written in the format specified above. Please don’t rely on the auto link back to your site (your name at the top of your comment) because it will just make it a tiny bit harder for me to chase up your email later, and some folks don’t list their emails on their blogs. Writing out your email in the body of the comment is especially important if you do not have a blog! Believe it or not, I deleted two blog-less entrants during the last giveaway who had left no way for me to contact them if they won!
Note - You may notice the listed price per card. It is cheaper for us to order the cards using our own account and just include the winner’s address in the shipping section rather than inserting our own address and then posting through to the winner when they arrive here. The end result is, you get more cards if you win because we’re not paying twice for shipping - which is covered by us for the giveaway - AND the product gets to you much faster, in around 2-3 weeks.
What Isn’t Allowed (Please Take Note)
- Multiple entries - only one per person please.
- Entries which do not specify a valid email address in the body of the comment. I will have to get ruthless on this one folks and trust me - hitting the delete button pains me greatly!
Winners will be drawn by random number generator around lunchtime Saturday 2nd August (my time). This makes it Friday evening (1st) for most of the US (if you aim to enter by Friday lunchtime, you’ll be fine)
Now, you can stop right there and get enterin’, but in case you feel like reading further, you might want to check out some more info below.
Entering Giveaways - General Advice
- On Launch Day, spend time browsing the Mr Linky at the host site and bookmarking blogs which look interesting. Hold off entering them on the spot. Most of them will be drawn by random number generator anyway so being first on their comments list won’t help - you’ve got time to sit back a little.
- Decide which ones look the best and enter them first…just a few each day. You might even like to set yourself a limit of, say, twenty giveaways to avoid Entrant’s Burnout. Don’t laugh. It happens!
- Take particular note of the end times with each giveaway because they can vary anywhere from Friday to Sunday and you don’t want to miss out on your favourites (I did, the first time I participated).
- If you are hosting a giveway, consider including a roughly-accurate draw time rather than a loosey-goosy window like ‘Saturday afternoon’ - this gives your international entrants (if you’re allowing those!) a time to plug into a time zone converter (for example, if I see a US blogger’s end time set at Friday 4pm, I know I have until sometime in the wee hours on Saturday morning, my time. And I usually end my own giveaways on Saturday at lunchtime, which translates into evening on Friday for the US).
- On that same subject, even if you can’t do it for this Bloggy Giveaways round, consider something light for your next giveaway and open the entries to everyone. The ‘Outside of the US’ folk like me only get to enter perhaps 25-30% of that lovely big list :(
- If you really enjoy hosting giveaways, consider starting a ‘Giveaways Box’ of appropriately lightweight items picked up on clearance or after cash back offers. When each quarter rolls around, go ’shopping’ in your box! Scrapbooking supplies are ALWAYS a big hit and cute little packets of stickers fit into this category of ‘post anywhere-ability’ really well. Books, not so much! (I won’t tell you how much I shelled out for shipping for my first giveaway but it included two very heavy books, one of which was shipped to the US - ouch!)
- If you want to make giveaways a regular gig, make sure you guesstimate a total cost to host your giveaway and stick to that budget. Allow for the purchase of the item or raw materials (ie, stocking your Giveaways Box as you see things on sale, fabric bought on clearance to make Christmas ornaments etc) as well as some for shipping. For example, I know that if I have a $20 budget, and the item is tangible (ie, not an ebook, Amazon voucher etc), then somewhere in the vicinity of $7-$8 of that goes toward postage costs, effectively making my purchase budget more like $12.
- Also, if I can be a mite selfish here - I get a serious kick out of folks who leave a ‘little extra’ with their comments. So if you are going to be signing up for some giveaways that are of the ‘leave a comment, that’s all’ variety, try to spend an extra minute or two and write a bit more for the blog owner, even if they don’t ask you to. I know it’s tempting to get your entry in and get out as soon as possible but trust me, the blog owner will probably live off the cool comments for weeks :) And besides, I spend an awful lot of time visiting entrants’ blogs, and the peppier your comment, the more likely I’ll come visit!
And thus ends this public service announcement, LOL. For more Bloggy Giveaway participants, go and knock yourselves out here.
Cheers,
Lizzie
Blogging, Subscriptions and Ethics…Oh My
Do you ever feel disillusioned by a particular blog?
Not mine of course. Mine is perfect - that’s a given (*smirk*)
Google Reader is my friend and I admit, at times I get a bit snap-happy with all the RSS subscribin’ as I travel around Bloggityville. Current subscription count? One hundred and sixty-one. Number of posts I actually open up to read? Perhaps a third. Hmmm.
I have a system for managing blogs in Google Reader. It involves multiple folders - Big Name, General, Organizing, Homemaking, Frugality… (I’m a nerd. It helps). When I see a new blog that I might/possibly/could read again, I’ll subscribe but I will leave them in the regular list without assigning them to a folder. Only when I have read and enjoyed them throughout a ‘trial period’ will I put them into a folder. The end result is a hodge podge of folders, loose blogs and guilt for not reading half of what I’m subscribed to.
The problem, I think, is that there is SO MUCH good content out there and SO LITTLE TIME in which to read it. My general ethos tends to be, if five cool homemaking sites are great, then wouldn’t 20 in the same genre be awesome? I follow plenty of big name bloggers just like the next gal - the likes of Big Mama, BooMama, Fried Okra, Like Merchant Ships, Scribbit, Rocks In My Dryer and so forth (by the way, the term ‘big name’ is highly subjective and relates only to my own filtering system) and I’m completely loyal, usually devouring every word.
But what happens when one of the blogs you’ve loved and supported (subscribed to, commented on) starts to fall short?
Does anyone else get the guilts like I do?
It’s likely that I will unsubscribe to this particular site and they will not even feel the smallest ripple in Bloggityville over my departure. I’m fine with that. There are other REALLY big name bloggers who I have never been able to subscribe to for personal or ethical reasons - I was reading through the archives of one in particular over a year ago and came up against a flat-out, deal-off reason to avoid returning. The site was completely fantastic and this one point was mentioned only sporadically, but I knew if I continued to read and support (subscribe to) her that I would be living a double standard. I am probably the only person in the known universe who does not subscribe to this site, by the way.
So, ethics and blogging. In my 161 subscriptions (which, immediately after posting this, will be pared back considerably),I rarely come up against something that shocks me. It is a given that you’ll only ever subscribe to sites which you personally identify with on some level so this is hardly suprising. The problem for me comes when I subscribe to a site based on one awesome aspect and then get blindsided by the blogger’s views on other issues, as is the case with the site I am about to unsubscribe from. Do you stay, and employ some sort of internal filter to ignore the icky parts (as I have done for a while now) because you really don’t want to lose access to the ‘good stuff’? The second blogger, Ms Big-Name-Point-of-Contention, is also in this category for me. But since the particular ’thing’ was a personal deal-breaker, the issue took care of it self. The first blogger, Ms Soon-To-Unsubscribe-From, is a little less clear cut. I have felt this way for some time but have held back because the issue at heart didn’t result in as strong of a reaction in me. But lately, I’ve noticed a bit of repetitive posting. Couple that with clashing viewpoints and that’s pretty much tied it up in a bow for me.
I’d love to hear others’ viewpoints on this. Specifically, how many blogs do you follow through Google Reader or Bloglines, are you discerning about subscribing right from the get-go (or do you do what I do, and kind of subscribe then ‘wait and see’),and are you plenty happy to click on ‘Unsubscribe’ when you begin to question whether you’re getting anything interesting out of the deal? What would be a deal-breaker issue for you in the bloggy-subscription world?
Update: After a mammoth Google Reader declutter session I am now sitting at 108 subscriptions with five ‘on notice’ and twelve ‘new blogs to watch’. Taking those into account I think I did pretty good - I’m going to set a 100 blog limit. And you know what? It felt GOOD. Challenge extended…
Cheers,
Lizzie (the infrequent and very apologetic poster!)
The Post In Which I Apologize For Being A Bad Blogger
I promise you I have not given up blogging. Although, if my stats are anything to go by, many of you seem to think I already have! That’ll teach me to neglect my friends in Bloggityville, LOL.
Playing catch-up, bullety-wise:
- Talented Hubby is still waiting to hear about his (possible) promotion. This seems like an abnormally long time to me (it has been 16 days so far), but TH assures me his workplace does things in precisely this manner most of the time. Fine. I just don’t have to like it.
- I’m tracking our expenditure quite extensively this month. I’ve got a bit of a backlog of receipts to enter but come the end of the month I’ll have a pretty accurate guide of where our money is going. And then I’ll feel bad. And then August will be all about Cutting Back. Fun times for all.
- I’ve had a few ’side projects’ on the backburner these last couple of weeks. Apart from the expenses tracking (which, naturally enough, involved the use of one of my Super Dooper Spreadsheets), I’ve been working on my Home Management Binder. It’s getting a complete overhaul. There are tons of sections I have in my current one that I no longer use or have found other homes for (keep watching for BooMama’s Before and After Challenge - not sure when yet, because it was rescheduled from the original July 25 to a time later in the year - but it will all make sense then) and I was sick of flipping through pages I no longer use, so I’m cleaning up and cleaning out. And, you know, any excuse to pretty it up again, LOL. I was originally going to convert it all to A5 size (half size), mistakingly thinking a smaller version would make it more streamlined and practical (don’t do that folks. Stick to A4. You’re welcome). Thankfully I came to my senses and now I’m having fun playing around with my scrapbook pages to design a new cover and section tabs (is it wrong that I buy scrapbooking paper, even though I don’t really scrapbook? If there’s a pretty pack of paper and it is on special, I will buy it. I then have the worst time choosing the ‘right’ one for projects such as these).
- I’m also setting up a Grocery Price Book. It has been in production for weeks and weeks, because I’ve not put in the half-hour of effort it would take to finish it off. You will see what I mean when I post about it, if I ever get it done. Despite the delay, I do think I’ve hit on a really good way of doing it - maybe a little too OCD for some, but kind of fun to work on for a clearly-irrational gal like me.
- The school holidays are dragging to a close. Because all of the Piglets are school age, and we don’t homeschool, it’s a bit of a shock when each holiday period rolls around and they are home all day. They get bored very fast. With everything. And taking them out can be quite expensive. And tiring. Just ask Master J who fell asleep on the bus coming home from a day out with two other families. And Miss Moo who was cranky and oppositional and finally crashed on the couch. Between the three Mums yesterday, we had eight children ranging in ages from 9 ½ down to 2 months. Three of them were 6 year old girls. I need to put that in bold because it is worth remembering. And we took them all to a toy store. My ears are still ringing. I didn’t do too much damage, only walking out with a $7 board game (which will go directly into the Gift Drawer), a ‘Phlat Ball’ (frisbee-which-converts-to-a-ball-in-mid-flight something-or-other - bought with Boofah’s leftover birthday money, so it doesn’t count) and a Barbie Sleeping Beauty Little Golden Book (a total con orchestrated by Miss Moo because — “the brothers got something and I didn’t!” I know. Read the comment above regarding 6yo girls. My defences were weak).
- Speaking of which, remember how I mentioned my friend Della in a previous post? Della was one of the other Mums there yesterday and she complimented me on my writing style here, which was sweet to hear :)
- I’ve got another blood donation in the city scheduled for Tuesday. It will be my second. And unless they completely forget to switch the machine off at the appropriate time and drain all my lovely blood out, my second of many. Apparently if I donate three times in 2008 and I get a groovy 2009 diary. Cool.
- In case anyone related to me is reading, my birthday is just 77 days away. Money to spend on Amazon would be nice. Specifically for this. I’m just sayin’…
I’m off to choose some pretty scrapbook paper for my Home Management Binder…
Cheers,
Lizzie
Menu Plan Monday ~ July 14
Okay, food. We’ve all got to eat it. Here’s what the kids and I are chomping down on this week while Daddy is working afternoon shift:
Monday - Spaghetti Bolognaise (Me: portion-controlled pasta, big salad)
Tuesday - Marinated Chicken Burgers (Me: two slices of toast instead of fat hamburger bun, plus plenty of salad)
Wednesday - UNSURE (visitor staying overnight….may get takeout. I’ll have to be careful)
Thursday - Soup & Sandwiches (Me: this I can have a large serve of - it’s healthy. Plus salad)
Friday - Grilled Chicken Wraps (Me: fairly safe meal, just load up on the green bits)
Saturday - Homemade Pizza (Me: pizza made on wholemeal pita, lots of vegies, smidgeon of cheese and large side salad)
Sunday - Roast Chicken (Me: small microwaved spud, lots of vegies)
Baking This Week
I’m leaving this open-ended this week. We have one more week of school holidays so at some point this coming weekend I’ll do a bit of a baking session to replenish the freezer stock/lunchbox fare. I just don’t know exactly what I’ll cook yet. Plus, I’m on a healthy kick this week. So if I bake heaps of delicious morsels I may as well bypass that nasty digestion phase and strap those babies to my thighs right off the bat.
Isn’t that usually how it goes?
Cheers,
Lizzie
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