Giveaway winners!

I know that I promised to announce the LIW A to Z Challenge giveaway winners after the end of the challenge, but, as it is, life happens and I've been away much of the past two days.

So, without further delay -

The winner of the maple syrup giveaway is:

Trini Wenninger

I want to try your maple syrup on my almond pancakes!

And the winner of (coincidentally) Trini's book Rose Wilder Lane's San Francisco is:

susanlulu

I am SO enjoying this daily post - learning lots of useful information - and hope to win a giveaway!!

Congratulations, Trini and Susan!! Email me at asimplehappylife at gmail dot com and your prize will soon be on its way!

And the winner is...

I used random.org to choose my giveaway winner...


(and, of course, I cannot get the little picture of my random.org to go here) (pfft...frustrating!)


So, trust me when I tell ya that the winner is...

pioneergirl said...

Congrats on the followers! My favorite things include Laura Ingalls Wilder research, spending time in De Smet, knitting, working in the yard, reading, and baking bread. --nansie

 

Congratulations, Nansie (and I love your favorite things)! Email me at asimplehappylife at gmail dot com with you address and I'll get it right out to you!

It's here!

Yes. I am finally announcing my 100 follower celebration giveaway! Today is a special day for me and seems a good day to start my giveaway.

I wracked my brain trying to decide what to give away and finally decided that I would give away some of my favorite things. Well, not actually MY things, but things that are my favorites. Only new.

So...I have decided that the theme of my giveaway is "Here Are A Few of My Favorite Things", which happens to be one of my favorite songs from my very favorite movie!

What am I giving away?

Well...
It may have something to do with:
Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Candles.
Something sweet.
My love of reading.
And maybe, just maybe, something from one of my favorite places that I may be making a day trip to shop (and eat) at tomorrow.

First of all, because I love Laura Ingalls Wilder, a biography about her by expert and author William Anderson.
I love our property and what it gives back to us so I'm including a jug of our own maple syrup.
A little gingerbread boy because they always make me smile. He comes from Bronner's in Frankenmuth.
I love candles so I had to include a candle.
Nothing's better on a chilly fall or winter afternoon than a cup of tea so I'm including some Michigan Wild Cherry tea bags.
Our property also gives us lots of blueberries every year. I don't make preserves, but I did bring some back from Frankenmuth's Bavarian Inn for the winner to enjoy - Blueberry Rhubarb preserves.
And, lastly, I love to read and I love my state of Michigan. I've included a bookmark with a little Michigan info on it.

What do you think? Are you game? Be a public follower and leave a comment here telling me what one (or some) of your very favorite things are. I will draw the winner on November 11!

Good Luck!

Just a thought...

My little list of followers...you know the one over there somewhere →
I notice that it's been stuck at 99 for some time now. I've been looking for an excuse to do a giveaway and I think I've found the perfect one! When I reach the magic number of 100, I will do a giveaway. I don't know exactly what yet, but I'll try to make it worth your while. So, if you're already a follower - well thank you! If you're an anonymous follower, think about changing it to public. If you don't follow at all, you could reconsider :-) maybe?

100 get it? 1 - 0 - 0
No? Yeah, it was a lame attempt at being creative.
Sorry. Won't happen again. ☺

As always, my one requirement to enter will be that you have to be a public follower, meaning not hidden (otherwise I have no idea that you're really a follower!).
Okay...I won't bug you again about following. I will, however, let you know when I'm ready to do a fun giveaway!
Over and out. Thank you for your time. ♥ you all!

Frankenmuth Double-Blog Giveaway!

Because we're celebrating Jamie's new job and it made us giddy and happy and full and broke, Jamie and I decided to host a joint blog giveaway!

Here's the deal: If you are (or become) a public follower of my blog and a public follower of Jamie's blog (From My Classroom Window) and leave a comment on this post on my blog or Jamie's giveaway post --- you will be entered. Just follow both of us and leave a comment with one or the other of us and you could win:

Gifts from Frankenmuth! The ornament that Bronner's gave us (beautiful blue with sparkly snowflakes), a Michigan bookmark, Strawberry Rhubarb Jam (made at the Bavarian Inn) and some Michigan Wild Cherry Tea.

Remember you have to be (or become) public followers of both of us, but only have to comment on one or the other.

We will toss all the names into a hat and draw one on Monday evening at 6pm (EST), August 22. Yep, you only have the weekend to enter!

Good luck!!

And the winner of The Sun Also Rises is...

Criminey! I always wish I could give something to everyone, but alas I only have one copy of The Sun Also Rises and the winner is...

Ann Best of Ann Best's Blog

who, coincidentally, I just wrote about yesterday. Congratulations Ann! Please email me your address at asimplehappylife at gmail dot com and I will send this out to you.

Check back again. There will be more!

Books - Reading, Writing, and Giving Away

At the beginning of the year, I made a plan to read one book a week and to write a summary on each book.

FAIL.

 I think I've read 14 books and blogged about two or three if you count my latest giveaway book, The Sun Also Rises. 

I think I have a fear that when I write a post about a book that I've read and enjoyed, that maybe I just can't do it justice. But, you know what, if I like a book (or if I don't), I still want to talk about it.

So I am.

Once a week I'm going to try to write a post about a book that I've read this year. Occasionally, I'm going to give a book away. Some of the books that I read I keep and some I lend to family or friends, others I will send to one of you!

The Sun Also Rises

A couple of months ago, our book club decided to read The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. I was looking forward to it as I'd never gotten a chance and had always wanted to read Hemingway. I have to say that it was not my favorite read...
Maybe more of a man's read?

From Goodreads:
The Sun Also Rises was Ernest Hemingway's first big novel, and immediately established Hemingway as one of the great prose stylists, and one of the preeminent writers of his time. It is also the book that encapsulates the angst of the post-World War I generation, known as the Lost Generation. This poignantly beautiful story of a group of American and English expatriates in Paris on an excursion to Pamplona represents a dramatic step forward for Hemingway's evolving style. Featuring Left Bank Paris in the 1920s and brutally realistic descriptions of bullfighting in Spain, the story is about the flamboyant Lady Brett Ashley and the hapless Jake Barnes. In an age of moral bankrupcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illustions, this is the Lost Generation.

I'm not in the minority here as my daughter and sister-in-law had the same opinion. I'm not writing off Hemingway completely. I own The Nick Adams Stories which I do plan to read (hopefully this summer).

So...who is up for Hemingway? I bought my copy new and it has only been read by my daughter and I.

If you'd like a chance to win this very book:

Be a public follower of my blog and leave a comment telling me what your favorite summer activity is. You have till June 13. I will announce the winner on June 14th!

Remember -- you must be a public follower of my blog to enter! Good luck!

Winner of the Little Town on the Prairie book!

I took all the correct answers and numbered them in the order they were posted. There were four correct answers and random.org chose....#4!

Patty C said...

Xanthophyll is from the Spell off in Little Town on the Prairie. It is in the Literaries chapter. Thanks for posting fun contests....it is fun to see what other fans know and their thoughts on her works. Patty:)

May 1, 2011 9:24 PM 

Patty, congratulations and email me your address! I will send your book right out to you!
Thanks to everyone who entered.

I'm here!

I've been catching up on some work for the past few days, I'll be here tomorrow with a new post, but just stopping by with a reminder. In case you missed my X post...I have a contest/giveaway going on and you have till tomorrow at midnight to venture a guess! Remember you MUST be a public follower of my blog, you have to leave a comment on my blog to enter, and I will trust that you won't look back at the other comments. It's all for fun! I'll let you know who wins on Friday. Good Luck everyone!! ♥

X-anthophyll

When you ask for for an X word, what is the first one that comes to my mind? Xanthophyll.

Definition of XANTHOPHYLL (from Merriam-Webster.com):
any of several yellow to orange carotenoid pigments that are oxygen derivatives of carotenes; especially : lutein

Do you know what book (and the chapter) this word is featured in? For some of you this will be very easy.

Hint #1: If you know me, either personally or through this blog, it shouldn't be that hard to be able to narrow down the author of the book.  ;-)
Hint #2: The definition has nothing to do with it. Just thought I should add it. It's always good to learn a new word, right?

What's in it for you? If you can tell me, in the comments below, the author, book, and chapter this word is found in, I will put your name in for a drawing. I will send the winner a copy of the book with color illustrations. If you're familiar with this author's books, you know that this book is available with color illustrations. I'm not talking about those dumb photograph covers, but the original illustrations in color.

*I'm trusting that you don't look at the other comments! ☺

You have until May 5th and you MUST be a public follower of my blog. One comment, one chance! Good Luck!!

Stones for my Father winner

Mama Hen - you won a copy of Stones for my Father! Please message me with your address so I can get it out to you.

Yes. There were only three people who commented and were eligible to win a book...

Stones for my Father Blog Tour

I'm really honored to have been chosen to take part as one of the hosts for Trilby Kent's Stones for my Father book blog tour. Thank you to Tundra Books and Sylvia Chan for giving me this opportunity!

Stones for My Father

Written by Trilby Kent
Hardcover | Ages 11+ | 176 pages
ISBN 978-1-77049-252-3
eBook 978-1-77049-260-8

Corlie Roux’s farm life in South Africa is not easy: the Transvaal is beautiful, but it is also a harsh place where the heat can be so intense that the very raindrops sizzle. When her beloved father dies, she is left with a mother who is as devoted to her sons as she is cruel to her daughter. Despite this, Corlie finds solace in her friend, Sipho, and in Africa itself and in the stories she conjures for her brothers.

But Corlie’s world is about to vanish: the British are invading and driving Boer families like hers from their farms. Some escape into the bush to fight the enemy. The unlucky ones are rounded up and sent to internment camps.

Will Corlie’s resilience and devotion to her country sustain her through the suffering and squalor she finds in the camp at Kroonstad? That may depend on a soldier from faraway Canada and on inner resources Corlie never dreamed she had….

What did I think?

~I've always enjoyed historical fiction and was not disappointed with Stones for my Father. I was drawn in from the first pages and held till the last. As I don't know much about The Boer Wars, reading Stones for my Father was actually a learning experience too. Ms. Trilby writes her characters very well. It did not take me long to feel compassion for Corlie as she is so cruelly treated by her mother, which is about how long it takes for me to want to rescue Corlie. I spent the rest of the book wishing someone would save Corlie, not only from the soldiers, but from her mother.

I also think that Ms. Trilby wrote the backdrop, the landscape, the emotions, and feelings so well. You could see the beauty of the landscape, but also feel the baking sun even though I have never been to South Africa, I felt as if I had been there. She made it so familiar. I felt such compassion for the children in the internment camp because the situation was portrayed with such feeling.

As I have included the summary above, I won't go into too much more. I don't want to give anything away! I will say that you will want to keep reading and there is a slight twist. Worth the read and an excellent book for a young person who is already interested in or to get them interested in a part of world history that they might otherwise not learn enough about.

I was hoping to do an interview with Trilby Kent, but because of illness and bouncing emails it just didn't get to happen in time. We will try to get it within the next week or two and I will post a follow-up to this with an interview!

TRILBY KENT was born in Toronto, Ontario, but grew up in cities on both sides of the Atlantic. After completing degrees at Oxford University and the London School of Economics, she worked for a time in the rare books department at Bonhams before turning to journalism and writing novels for children and adults. Her first book, Medina Hill, is also available from Tundra Books. Trilby Kent lives in London, England.

Would you like to win a copy of Stones for my Father by Trilby Kent? Just leave a comment below and you will be entered. You only have until midnight tonight and you must be a public follower of my blog! You can also click on the link in my sidebar to enter to win one of five copies being given away through Goodreads! Good Luck!

G-iveaway - but not quite yet!

These are a few of my favorite things:

G is for giveaway - but not right now!

A couple of weeks ago, I had a giveaway here on my blog. I wanted to make it easy for anyone who wanted to enter. To enter my first giveaway you didn't need to be a follower, you simply needed to comment, plus I gave extra opportunities for extra entries. My giveaway is done and the two jugs of maple syrup that I gave away are safely en route to some fine people that I hope will enjoy them.

There are only a couple of drawbacks to doing a giveaway. First, and most important, I wanted everyone to win! It's hard to only give away one thing. That's why I ended up having a runner-up. Next, when someone enters and you don't know them and they tell you that they shared about your giveaway because that will gain them another entry...well they're not always telling the truth. And that's disappointing. I don't mind at all that I don't know everyone who enters, because I love to meet new people. But...please don't cheat to win something, especially from an everyday simple gal like me who just likes people and wanted to share a part of her life with them.

So that said, for my next giveaway, I have to ask that everyone be a public follower of my blog. Commenting will get them one entry and sharing on their blog and then coming back to comment and providing me with the link will get them a second. I would love to offer extra chances for extra entries, but, just like when we were kids in school, one person can ruin it for the whole class and I would love to do giveaways an a regular basis, but not to cheaters.

After I reach 50 followers, I'm hoping to do a book giveaway. But I have a question...

These are only some of my books. I have many more. And I'm continually buying more. I mean...who can pass up a library sale when you can get a bag of books for a buck??

I have tons of books and, quite honestly, the majority of them I will only read once. Then I give them away. The other day, I thought to myself, "When you read a book that you're not going to keep why don't you give it away to one of your blog followers?" People love books.

Would it matter to you if the book had been read once?

I would love to buy new books or other things and give them away, but to be totally honest, our business is slow, times are tough, and I really can't afford to spend a lot of money right now.

So, what do you think? Do you mind if I have giveaways for books that have been read once. I will be honest. If I didn't necessarily like a book I will tell you! As a matter of fact, that is the case with the first one I have chosen. However, it is considered a classic and it was written by a famous writer. It just wasn't my kind of read. Someone else may be thrilled with it!

And the winner is...

I absolutely loved doing this giveaway! It was so much fun sharing the story of our maple syrup and giving others the chance to let us share the actual maple syrup! At the same time, I hated doing this giveaway...I wanted everyone to win. :-( And that just isn't possible...

Okay, while I didn't actually throw the names into a hat, I did have this beautiful jar that my daughter made for me a few years ago as part of my Christmas present. Perfect for throwing names into!

And here are the names all waiting to be drawn. I recycled paper from my "printer mistake" pile. I very carefully kept track of who commented and whether they were a follower and if they shared news of the giveaway.

I interrupted Jim's breakfast so that he could draw the winners. See? There's his glass of orange juice there on the very left.

Sarah! Congratulations Sarah! I was actually able to meet Sarah at LauraPalooza last summer.

She's a very nice gal and I'm happy to share our maple syrup with her. Sarah, contact me with your info and I'll get this sent right out to you. :-)

 Hold on there a minute! 

Why is Jim drawing another name out of the jar?

As it turns out, I had this cute little half-pint ☺ jug that just needed to travel to another winner! You guys just don't know how badly I wish I had one for everyone!

But the little half-pint travels to Kansas! Congratulations, Susan, contact me with your info and I'll get your little taste of syrup out to you.

I had so much fun that I think I will do other giveaways on occasion. Not always maple syrup, mind you, but I'll come up with something. And, who knows, stick around and next year I'll probably do this again!

Last chance to enter!!

You have until midnight tonight to enter my maple syrup giveaway. Details here! Remember you have to comment for your first entry and then you earn extra entries for following me or sharing on your blog, facebook, or twitter. Just provide a link or let me know. Good luck everyone! I'll be back tomorrow to announce the winner.

A sweet giveaway!

I was kind of waiting to do a giveaway until I had more followers, but I just can't wait any longer!

The original sapping crew in the first year (about 5 years ago). My little boy is on the left and my man is on the right and the father/son duo that finished out the crew are in the middle.

It's maple syrup season and I want to give away some maple syrup!!

Fancy stuff here. We'll even give it to you in this official pint jug. No glass canning jar for you!

It's pretty simple to enter. Just leave a comment here on my blog. You don't have to be a follower, but if you are I'll throw your name in the hat for an second entry. ☺ If you'd like any extra chances, blog, tweet, or facebook about this sweet and sticky giveaway and I'll toss your name in one more time for each. You just have to come back here and leave me a comment letting me know!

You see it's our own maple syrup. It even has our label on it.
Yes, our little lodge out back is called "Bear Butt Lodge", but that's another story for another day. :-)

You have until midnight on March 31st. I will pick a winner on April 1st and let you all know! Good Luck!!