a little help.

did i ever tell you about the time that i was addicted to entering online sweepstakes? for like 5 or 6 months, i spent every second of my free time entering every contest i could get my hands on. instant wins were my preference (i’m impatient), but i wasn’t really that discriminating. i would throw down for whatever, from cash prizes to year supplies of beef jerky (this was in my pre-vegetarian days). after all of my insane efforts, my bounty equaled exactly one goldfish cracker shaped coin purse, and one unflattering orange lip gloss. it was a complete and utter bust. not only did i not win anything good, i didn’t actually want either of the things i did win. sweepstakes are cruel that way. i had wasted so much time, and it wasn’t worth it, not even a little.

but then i found couponing (i’m a fickle little bitch), and i realized that not only was sweepstakes entering a pitiful waste of time, but that i could have been entering awesome giveaways on blogs and actually winning stuff the whole time. maybe there are no million dollar prizes, but you can get some pretty kickin stuff, and the odds can’t be beat (usually less than 100 entrants per contest).

so about that favor i need… as i mentioned in the weekend pickthrough, i recently entered a writing contest over at one of my very favorite sites- red head writing. i actually have no idea what the prize is, or even if there is a prize at all (but rumor has it that her last winner got a $150 gift card), but it isn’t about that. after my crushing defeat at burlesque amateur night (still writing it up, but soon!), i require the glory of ultimate victory to reinflate my flaccid ego. or maybe i just like writing and wanted to see if i could win this shit. but anyhow, the way to win is to collect more positive comments (actual comments, not just hitting the “like” button) on your piece than all of the other story tellers. i’d like to believe that random strangers will wander in and be captivated by charming little tale of nosebleeds and mojitos, but that’s looking pretty unlikely at this moment in time.  instead, it’s going to be an exercise in how many of my friends i can sweet talk into voting for me regardless of whether they like my story or not.  are you sweet talked yet?

how about now?

but seriously, i would really love it if you would toddle on over to the contest, and check it out. you don’t have to vote for me, but it would be wonderful if you would vote for the person that you like the best. a bunch of really interesting people put a lot of love into their 300 words, and they deserve to get some feedback.

and if you’re horribly annoyed that i’m even asking you to do this at all, just ignore me for today, and i promise that i will not abuse the privilege again anytime soon. (but if i do win- IN YOUR FACE!).

weekend pickthrough- utter randomness edition

the most hilarious spelling lesson ever.

holy shit that’s a lot of hamburger helper.

time magazine chooses their 25 favorite blogs of 2009. nary a coupon blog- but they did include lifehacker, zen habits, and freakonomics– all of which regularly have good things to say about frugality, and figuring out how to live in a world with less money than ever.

gorgeous daily doses of my hometown.

on the subject of buying coupons.

they make it seem exclusive by making you apply to join. but if, like me,  you want access to 70% off BCBG, then you’ll do it.

looking for your grocery store in an endless sea of frugal blogs? coupon geek figured it out.

someone who actually enjoys the nielsen homescan program! (they’re accepting applications btw… should i do it?)

not that i ever win, but i love instant wins. (and this one spins)

i try it!- the game of life.

it’s happened! the game of life is finally here! i love sweepstakey crap, so i am all over this shit. actually, it reminds me a lot of the mcdonald’s monopoly game that i used to love (before i became a vegetarian and i found out that they spray their french fries with beef tallow– bummer).

it’s really very basic. every time you go to rite aid, you get these game pieces which you stick on the game board (get that from your checkout person if you don’t have one yet) to complete little pictures of products that apparently have nothing to do with the prize that you win. simple! also with your prize collection stickers, you get coupons or instant win prizes. i got a $.25/1of planters nuts coupon and an instant win for 2 more game pieces. woot! i also got both pieces of the cruise ship which apparently entitles me to enter into a drawing for a carnival cruise. the caveat: i actually have to stick my pieces to an index card and mail them in. what is this, 1948? i’ll do it (for science), but just for the record, i think it’s totally stupid.

i’ll be planning out my rite aid deals tonight so i can score some more game pieces tomorrow. so far i’m pretty excited, but i still have a host of unanswered questions:

1. will the checkers at my sketchy rite-aid remember to check the receipt and give me the appropriate amount of game pieces? (that seems like a weird choice to me )

2. will it be awkward for me to ask for them?

3. how long until they run out of pieces?

only time will tell. more to report tomorrow after my lunch break.