Halloween Giveaway Winners

Thank you to everyone who participated in Giving Up on a Perfect Halloween! Random.org has spoken, and the winners are:

• Giveaway #1 (the books): Comment #12 (Beth @ Not a Bow in Sight)
• Giveaway #2 (the bundt pan & magazine): Comment #37 (melilotnfosco)
• Giveaway #3 (Red Letter Words): Comment #27 (Lisa @ Simplified Savings)

Congratulations! E-mail me with your mailing address, so you can get your goodies! And everyone else, stay tuned for Giving Up on a Perfect Thanksgiving (November 20) and Giving Up on a Perfect Christmas (December 18).

Giving Up on a Perfect Halloween - GIVEAWAY

It's time to give up on a perfect Halloween. Come on . . . I'll even give you prizes!

I’ll randomly select winners from the comments. Don’t forget to include your e-mail address if you don't have a Blogger account. Comments will be closed at midnight on Halloween (insert scary music here).

One entry per person, but for additional entries, become a Facebook fan of Giving Up on Perfect (or tell me if you already are) or Tweet about this carnival and giveaway on Twitter. And then tell me about it in a separate comment!

Giveaway #1

This is your chance for a sneak peek at three books I'll be reviewing this fall!

• It’s a Wonderful (Imperfect) Life: Daily Encouragement for Women Who Strive Too Hard to Make It Just Right by Joan C. Webb
• Have a New Kid by Friday: How to Change Your Child's Attitude, Behavior & Character in 5 Days by Kevin Leman
• Slow Burn (Defiance Texas Trilogy, Book 2) by Mary E. DeMuth
• Yes, these are affiliate links.

Giveaway #2

This is the bundt pan. I'm going to assume you know what magazines look like.

• Longaberger Woven Traditions fluted bundt cake pan. Ivory pottery, safe for oven, freezer, microwave and dishwasher.
• Two-year subscription to Southern Living. (I’m pretty sure they’ve got a recipe or two for bundt cake!)
• Donated by my friends Angela and Kyla

Giveaway #3

These are just two examples. Check out the gallery for all your options!

• A 12x12 cafe art mount print by Red Letter Words
• You may have recently seen these great prints on Nesting Place. The Nester loves them, and so do I!

So what are you waiting for? Link up, enter and enjoy! And remember – give up on a perfect Halloween. The results might just be spooktacular. Or, ah, bootiful?

Darn it. I went nearly 800 words without a cheesy Halloween pun. Sorry, friends. I just couldn’t help it. Happy Halloween!

Embarrassing Stories, Funny Photos, a Carnival and Giveaways – now that’s a perfect Halloween!

Halloween 2007 came less than two weeks after we brought Annalyn home from the hospital. Those days are pretty blurry, but I’m pretty sure I spent that evening ignoring the knocks on the door (Hello, neighborhood kids. If the light’s off, keep on moving.) and checking on the teeny tiny baby sleeping in her crib.

Last year was much more exciting. My mom and I took Annalyn – in her ghetto kitty costume – to visit a couple people and then headed to their house for dinner and a movie (“It’s a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”).

This year, I’ve been so excited that Halloween falls on a Saturday. That means we can take Annalyn to more than two houses for trick or treating and, more importantly, Mark can come with us.

I’ve bought a ladybug costume, borrowed an antenna headband, found some black tights and mapped out all the stops we want to make before going to my parents’ house for chili and the annual Charlie Brown movie. It’s going to be great.

At least . . . it’s supposed to be great. Mark told me yesterday that he might have to work on Saturday. And so I got a lesson in my own philosophy – give up on a perfect Halloween, Mary!

Seriously, do the holidays ever turn out like we hope? Like we plan? Like we expect?

Not in my world.

Back in the day when I could show a little leg. (Also known as college.)

Ah, the memories of hand-me-down clown costumes and face paint made of Mom's makeup.

Carving a pumpkin with my dad. I think something went awry between picture #1 and picture #2!

Take the Halloween Slumber Party of 1990. From the black hair dye that started on my friend Elizabeth’s hair and ended up staining my mother’s sparkling clean bathtub to my insensitive friends who insisted on watching “Carrie,” even though some girls (read: me) were too scared to even look at the television, that night did not go as planned.

But nothing beats the Big Halloween Party of 8th Grade.

My friend Mindy and I got all dressed up, stopped by my Granny’s house to get some candy and snap a picture, and then headed out to the country for a good ol’ barn dance.

Okay, so it wasn’t so much a barn dance as a real, live boy and girl party in a . . . barn. But the boys and girls mostly stayed on opposite sides of that barn, honest. And as it turns out, Mindy was the only one who showed up wearing flannel and overalls.

She was dressed as a hobo. I was dressed as a gypsy. And everyone else was dressed as awkward adolescents who did not dress up for Halloween.

We were mortified. We ran into our friend’s house and called Mindy’s mom. We begged her to bring us clothes to change into, and she was more than willing. Unfortunately, Mindy lived on Trick or Treating Central, so there was no getting out of the driveway.

Eventually, one of her neighbors took pity on us and drove out with two normal outfits. Finally, we could head back to the barn and stand next to the rest of the girls who were staring at the boys.

Have you ever had a costume catastrophe? A holiday mishap? A less than perfect Halloween? Tell us all about it – link up in the MckLinky, and leave a comment!

Need more motivation to comment? How about a giveaway? What’s that? You want more than that? Okay, how about three giveaways?

Click over to my new review/giveaway page for the details!

Link up your posts, check out the giveaway and comment! And remember – give up on a perfect Halloween. The results might just be spooktacular. Or, ah, bootiful?

Darn it. I went nearly 800 words without a cheesy Halloween pun. Sorry, friends. I just couldn’t help it. Happy Halloween!

Don't forget!

Remember - this Friday, October 30, is the Giving Up on a Perfect Halloween Carnival! I'll have a giveaway, a scary embarrassing story, pictures galore and a place to link up your own imperfect Halloween posts.

Need inspiration? Well . . .

• Have you ever turned off the porch light and eaten the rest of your Halloween candy by yourself?
• Have you ever had a great idea for a costume . . . that didn't quite work out?
• Do you think it's more fun to enjoy Halloween as a kid or as an adult?
• Do you like haunted houses and scary movies? Or do they make you pee your pants scream?
  

Or, what about . . .

• Your best homemade costume
• Your favorite Halloween candy
• The tastiest Halloween treats you've ever made
• Your family's fall traditions

Here's what it comes down to, friends: There's no perfect way to spend any holiday. So let's kick off the end-of-the-year holiday rush by not stressing out. And celebrating our funny, scary, sweet and memorable stories about Halloween.

And, oh yeah, by entering to win a big ol' prize. See you on Friday!