2012 A Year Of Winning

A year or so ago I began keeping track of my sweepstakess by breaking them down by month.  It made the dry times seem more tolerable because I realized I really won more than I though.

This year marks the first time I won a second chance prize from a lottery drawing. It is also the first time I won a Pinterest prize.  Sure the Pinterest prize was a consolation prize but who am I to argue with a $25 e-Gift Card?  I used it to buy NEXT YEARS Christmas gifts for my dogs. 

All in all it was a pretty good year that included TWO trips. How great is that? 

Here are my wins for 2012:

JANUARY

 *  Papa John's pizza with one (1) topping, awarded in the form of a unique, one-time use promotion code
*  A subscription to Better Homes and Gardens Magazine from Purex
* Quaker Flip Flops - Pepsi's Challenge sweepstakes

FEBRUARY

 *  One (1) winner shall receive a Guy's Guy Weekend which includes a Trip for two (winner and winner's travel companion) to meet ESPN Radio personalities at ESPN Audio's Guy's Guys Weekend at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL . Trip includes roundtrip airfare for two to Orlando, FL, 4 days/3 nights accommodations for two at Disney's Yacht Club Resort; a Welcome Reception (includes dinner, drinks, fireworks); a "Drive Time" night NASCAR racing experience at Richard Petty Racing, optional 18-holes of Golf at Disney's Magnolia Golf Course, a Saturday afternoon Atlanta Braves baseball game at the Champion Stadium at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, and !iViva Los Guys! "Casino" Night. Approximate Retail Value ("ARV") of $7,600 USD. 1-800-Flowers.com® - Arrangement of the Month 12 Month Bouquet Club (Product Code: 95119C12, ARV: $899.76 USD), Stock Yards® - The Twelve-Month Club (Product Code: #8805, ARV: $1,649.95 USD) and SONY - PS3™ Sports Champions™ Move HW Bundle (ARV: $349.00 USD). Total ARV of Grand Prize: $10,498.71 USD
*  Science Diet® Share the Love Sweepstakes

MARCH

 * One (1) Underworld Trilogy on Blu-Ray.  One (1) Underworld Awakening Soundtrack.  Two (2) IMAX ticket vouchers
* Two Family Fun Cash Certificates valid for $5 of any movie or towards the purchase of any DVD electronics, sporting goods, or toy items at participating theaters/retailers. 
*  $10 Dollar General Gift Card
*  Reese's peanut butter cup coupon

APRIL

 *  Reese's t-shirt (ARV $6.58).
*  Autographed Hunter Hayes CD.
*  Trip for winner and one (1) guest to attend the UFC Event as defined in Rule #2. Trip consists of round-trip coach air transportation (from gateway city nearest winner's home), double-occupancy hotel accommodations for two (2) consecutive nights, one (1) Bud Light/UFC gift bag (contents to be determined by Sponsor at a later date), two (2) tickets to the UFC Fight and access to Bud Light sponsored events. UFC Event and Fight date, location and seating assignments will be determined by Sponsor and Zuffa, LLC, in Sponsor's and Zuffa's sole discretion, at a later date and is subject to availability and change. Winner and guest must travel on the same itinerary and on the dates specified by Sponsor or prize will be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner. Winner and guest must comply with all travel requirements, which may include, without limitation, presenting necessary identification (including passport or driver's license) at the time of travel. Flight schedules are subject to change without notice. Any costs incurred due to changes to the original itinerary are solely the winner's responsibility. Travel and accommodations are at the Sponsor's discretion and subject to availability and change. If winner cannot accept prize as specified, prize will be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner (time permitting). Ground transportation, meals, gratuities and all other expenses not specified herein are solely winner's responsibility. Approximate Retail Value ("ARV"): $1,235.00

MAY

 *  Four complimentary Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes dining passes
*  Package of Thomas' English Muffins or Bagels awarded in the form of a $5 electronic coupon.
*  $5 Amazon gift code.

JUNE

 *  Box of drumsticks cones
*  $2 Pepsi download

JULY

 *  10 MYCOKEREWARDS Points
*  $100 Aerosoles gift card
*   FREE one-year subscription to Ladies’ Home Journal magazine!
*  Guitar Bottle Opener (ARV $9).
*  Dot.Mine, day planner (ARV $13.99)
*  Hawaiian Falls Family 4-Pak includes four admission tickets, four combo meals and all day drinks
*  International Delight Iced Coffee free product coupon (ARV $3.99)
*  Chicago Fire soccer ball, outdoor blanket, in addition to Quaker products (Real Medleys, Cookies, Oats, Chewy Bars, Quaker Oatmeal Squares)
*  FREE any size bag of Kettle Brand Chips
*  Music Trivia Playing Cards (ARV $5.99)

AUGUST

 *  Coupon for Buy 2 SHEBA® canned food for cats, and get 1 FREE. MAX Value: $.59
*  $10 Cheesecake Factory Gift Card
*  $50 Fandango Card
*  $25 Fandango Card
*  $100 Aerosoles Gift Card

SEPTEMBER

 *  Panasonic Earbuds (ARV $9.99)

OCTOBER

 *  A three month VIP memberships to the exclusive Inner Circle of the Blogs to Riches Club
*  A $5 O'Reilly Auto Parts Promotional Certificate*.
*  Travel Earbud Set (ARV $30).

NOVEMBER

 *  Autographed copy of A Bride's Dilemma in Friendship, Tennessee by Diana Lesire Brandmeyer (ARV $13)
*  Congratulations on winning a $25 American Express® Shop Small® Gift Card,
*  Quaker/Play60 t-shirt (ARV $10).

DECEMBER

 *  $25 MasterCard® Prepaid Code
*  You've won a $10 Walgreens Gift Card
*  $25 Frontgate gift certificate (first pinterest win)
*  Congratulations! You were selected as a prize pack winner in the TX Lottery World Series of Poker 2nd chance drawing.  Prize includes a WSOP branded poker table top, WSOP branded Automatic Card Shuffler and Shoe, WSOP branded Poker 400 Piece Poker Set, WSOP branded Watch and Custom Leather Case, WSOP branded Sunglasses and Hard Shell Case, WSOP branded Premium Fitted Cap. 

Congressman Wu Has Tiger Blood

Congressman Wu's tiger blood but may have him on the prowl!

Rep. David Wu announced that he will be leaving Congress following a report in The Oregonian last week that an 18-year-old woman complained to his office about an "unwanted sexual encounter."

He's issued a statement announcing his imminent resignation:

It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be a United States Congressman. Rare is the nation in which an immigrant child can become a national political figure. I thank God and my parents for the privilege of being an American.

Now, however, the time has come to hand on the privilege of high office. I cannot care for my family the way I wish while serving in Congress and fighting these very serious allegations.

The wellbeing of my children must come before anything else. With great sadness, I therefore intend to resign effective upon the resolution of the debt-ceiling crisis. This is the right decision for my family, the institution of the House, and my colleagues.

It is also the only correct decision to avoid any distraction from the important work at hand in Washington. I intend to go forward with new resolve and love of family, the State of Oregon, and our nation.

Don't cry for Wu though because he doesn't leave empty handed. His consolation prize will be a pension and benefits worth more than $1 million in his lifetime.

I'd say he'll be doing just grrrrrrrrrrreeeaaat with that kind of walking around money!

What I won in 2006

The time has come to post my wins for the year 2006. It was a pretty good year all and all. This year I started back doing the snail mail thing again. Did pretty well there too.

Many friends ask me, "How much do you spend to win all that stuff?"  The answer is I belong to two sweepstakes networks/newsletters and my cost for the membership totals $60.  I also buy stamps and this year I spent about $100 in stamps and supplies.  A simple bit of math will show that I'm still coming out way ahead of the money I put into this hobby.  That's not something most people can say about their hobby.

Marlboro canvas and leather backpack, Creative Nail Design nail polish (ARV $6), Criando a Su Niño con Orgullo Latino by Carmen Inoa Vazquez, Ph.D (ARV $11.95). How to fold a t-shirt shirt $20, Kodak Photo stickers $2.99, Final Drive:Nitro (ARV $19.95). $100 publix gift certificate, Hills Bros. Cappucino free product coupon (ARV $4.99). When Zachary Beaver Comes To Town DVD (ARV $19), coupon $2.00 Frigo Cheese products, Three Molly Moon books (ARV $30.97), Gingerbread Man shower gel and bubble bath (ARV $18). signed Joey Daniels CD. ($20), Personalized luggage tag with featured artwork by artist Sheila Crider (ARV $10), The Experts Guide to Life at Home by Samantha Ettus (ARV $19.95). Officially Licensed 2006 NCAA Championship DVD (ARV $20). Mixing bowl (ARV $10). $40 VISA Gift Card. (which was sent to son by Burger King), Coupon for five 2 Liters of any Coca-Cola product (ARV $7.45), Mongoose Tirage Men's 26-Inch Mountain Bike ($149), Further Down the Road CD ($20), Elmer's School Supply Package ($100), Signed photograph of Vivica A. Fox (ARV $50), DVD of Mitch Albom answering 15 questions about his life and his work, DiGiorno pizza free product coupon (ARV $5.93), One 5"x7" Print. ARV: $0.99, A Cosmetics Gift Certificate from Jaffra Cosmetics ($10), Authentic New York Jets hat. (ARV $20), $10, Starbucks® Card ($10), Year's worth of Eli's Cheesecake ($542), Can of Glade Air Infusions and coupon book(ARV $3), $10 Visa Reward, 2-night trip for two to New Orleans, LA, and a 2-night trip for two to Chicago, IL; includes tickets to the New Orleans Ghost Tour and Chicago Hauntings Ghost Tour (ARV $3,698). Writing Home: Collected Essays and and Newspaper Columns from 1992-2004 by Cindy La Ferle (ARV $16.95). Hare Today Gone Tomorrow by Cynthia Baxter (ARV $7), : Twelve cartons of Edy's Slow Churned Light ice cream and napkins, ice cream scoops, spoons, name tags, disposable camera and more (ARV $350), Connect Cash code for 15 song downloads ($14.85), Four Bratz Genie Magic dolls, Bottle w/Katia, DVD and CD (ARV $82.96), Superman Returns Action Figure by Mattel (ARV $9.99), Ativa shredder DQ60M ($40), Reese's Limited Edition t-shirt (ARV $15), Free movie ticket (ARV $12), Two movie ticket gift certificates to see the Cars movie or any other Disney movie currently playing at participating theaters (ARV $24), 5 Ringtone download (each ARV $1.99-$2.99). $25 Spafinder.com gift certificate, Sony Portable DVD Player Value ($300), (4) $3 Bruster's card, 6 free Bruser's waffle cone coupon ($3.95 each), (1) $5 Bruster's card, Superman Returns Mattel Kryptonite compound (ARV $4.99). Two Herb Alpert CD's, 2 hot tamales candies ( 79 cents each), Publix gift certificate ($10), elmer's glue (), publix gift certificate ($25), ICBM (Ice Cream By Mail) of one multi-pack of each flavor of The Cone (Cherry Garcia and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough; each multi-pack contains three cones (ARV $43), Esquire magazine subscription ($8), $25 Kodak EasyShare Gallery Gift Certificate ($25), Avery meeting and event solutions products (ARV $857), iPod Shuffle, Pedometer and water bottle ($75), Second Prizes: A Sony MP3 Player. ARV: $89.95, Pentel ErgoTwist pen or pencil (ARV $6), ConAgra Banquet product coupon (ARV up to $7.99), $200 Visa Gift Card, $50 Rite Aid gift certificate, $5 home depot gift card, $100 visa gift card, Phat Girls DVD ($20), Nokia Talk and Go mobile phone with 150 minutes. Value ($64.99), Coupon for a free small nugget tray (ARV $20), V8 Splash Tee Shirt [Adult S] (ARV $10). V8 Splash Mini Basketball (ARV $10). One year magazine subscription to choice of publication from a list provided by Sponsor at time of winner notification (ARV $3.50), Micro chenille robe from Colorado Clothing Company (ARV $29.95), GA Bull Dogs canopy tent ($260), Blue Bunny t-shirt and beach towel (ARV $36.95), Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day dish soap, all-purpose cleaner, counter top spray, surface scrub, surface wipes, stainless steel spray, and window spray (ARV $40.93), $15 iTunes Music Store card, $20 starbucks card, Signature John Morrell cutting board (ARV $25). Dr. Kimball And Mr. Jefferson ($25), Ringtone provided by Juice Wireless (ARV $3). CONNECT Cash code good for two song downloads at CONNECT Music (ARV $1.98). $50 gift card, Avène Tinted Compact SPF 50, $10 DisneyShopping.com Online Gift Card, $10 alloy online credit card, Bacardi Silver holiday prize pack with recipe tree, recipe pack with recipe cards, stirrers, "naughty" and "nice" guest towel set and Bacardi mixology recipe card deck (ARV $40). Little Debbie Race Packs (ARV $50)./ message