Valentine’s Day Giveaway-Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert

One lucky reader will win a copy of Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert. Keep on reading to find out more.

Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of the phenomenal best-seller “Eat, Pray, Love,” has found a way to reach millions of readers (and make millions of dollars) with her ability to write about the defining moments of her life. She admitted to being selfish, depressed and indulgent, all traits that aren’t too pretty in real life but come off fabulous on the page (and on-screen). Yet, by revealing herself, Gilbert’s found a way to entertain, inspire, and give hope to millions of women and a few men around the world, and people hate her guts for it with good reason — their jealous as hell that it didn’t happen for them. Now, being a romantic realist myself, I don’t get jealous when people find happiness — I get inspired by it, so of course I loved “Eat, Pray, Love” mainly because I can appreciate the path from darkness to light.

When Gilbert’s latest book “Committed” came out earlier this year, I was surprised to see that it didn’t get better reviews, but then I remembered how all the best-loved romantic stories always end on the highest note. Once I read the book this summer, I realized why people were let down a bit by “Committed;” and it was because Gilbert’s own Cinderella story had an anti-climactic ending that took a few years to get to. She didn’t want to get married to her international and charming older lover Felipe and he didn’t want to get married to her, yet they had to get married because the government wouldn’t basically let them be together anymore. Once the reality of real life is presented to readers, it takes some of the romance and charm and dreaminess out of the whole relationship — but for people like me who live with their feet on the ground and not with their head in the clouds — I will tell you liked it.

What I won’t say is that I loved it as much as “Eat, Pray, Love,” because it’s impossible to do so. Reality of life traveling in foreign countries for years without having a place to call home does suck and it did suck for Gilbert and her now-husband. Instead of whining about it for 285 pages, she took a stressful time and created another opportunity to make something more of her journey by writing about her life as well as trying to writing about the culture and socio-economic aspects of marriage from historical, romantic, realistic and even political points of view. She interviews the women she meets along the way of her own path to marriage, and by telling their stories, she slowly learns to make peace by becoming more open to marriage. I think some people didn’t like reading about the non-romantic aspects of marriage, but I did, but then again, I am an un-traditional woman. I am a woman who eloped and didn’t have a single guest at her wedding and didn’t even have a wedding reception. I even changed out of my wedding dress the moment I got into our limo — but mainly because I had been standing on the edge of a cliff in an itchy gown in a 106 degree weather in the middle of a dessert. I didn’t want to make the situation more glamorous than it was–and I did what was best for me, which is feeling comfortable these days. And, that is how Gilbert ended her romantic tale, by being comfortable as well, and who could fault her for living her life the way she wants to? 

If you like travel memoirs, realistic happily ever after love stories, stories that take place in Asia or the moment when Dorothy found out exactly who was standing behind the curtain in the film “The Wizard of Oz,” then you’ll enjoy this book. Life is messy and imperfect, and if you can handle all of that while still trying to fantasize that you were in her shoes, then this book is for you and you must go out and buy it immediately!

On a side note, Gilbert has been around for some time now, and has several other books you may be interested in reading. I’ve not read any of them, but I am looking forward to someday reading some of her other magazine articles and short stories. Did you know the article Gilbert wrote for GQ magazine about her time bartending in New York city became the basis of the guilty-pleasure film (and eventual lame chain of bars) for the movie “Coyote Ugly?” My gosh, I just find that somehow fascinating that I’ve never heard that until today.

Visit Indiebound to purchase a copy of Committed for yourself.

COMMITTED GIVEAWAY

RULES:

**Open to US & Canadian residents only.

**No P.O. boxes, please.

**Must include your email in your comment, unless you signed in to leave a comment with your “real” email.

**All comments must be separate to count as separate entries. For example, if you follow me on Facebook and Twitter, leave 2 comments, one with your Facebook name, and one with your Twitter name. Or, if you posted about the giveaway on your blog, leave 5 comments, all with the link to your giveaway.

HOW TO ENTER: 

**Mandatory Entry: Go to Elizabeth Gilbert’s website and tell me what fun or interesting thing you learned or noticed there. 

+1  ENTRY: Follow Elizabeth Gilbert on Facebook. 

+1  MORE ENTRY: Follow @GilbertLiz on Twitter.  

+1  ENTRY: Follow me on Facebook. Make sure to leave your Facebook name in your comment.

+1  MORE ENTRY: Follow me on Facebook and share a link on your wall with the following comment “I entered The Girl from the Ghetto’s Valentine’s Day Giveaway-Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert here http://bit.ly/gGXRiY.” Make sure to leave a comment below with a link to your Facebook profile or with your Facebook name.

+1  MORE ENTRY: Follow me on Twitter. Make sure to leave your @Twitter name in your comment.

+1  MORE ENTRY: Follow me on Twitter and tweet the following “RT @NerdGirlBlogger I entered the Valentine’s Day @GilbertLiz book giveaway here http://bit.ly/gGXRiY.” You can tweet 4x a day (Once every 6 hours) for even more chances to win. Make sure to leave a link to your tweet in a comment below.

+1  MORE ENTRY: Subscribe to my blog via email or Feedburner. 

+1  ENTRY: Follow me on Goodreads.

+1  ENTRY: Add Committed to your to-read shelf on Goodreads.

+1 MORE ENTRY: Comment here and tell me why you need to win this giveaway! Do you enjoy memoirs, tales of travel, reading in general, or, do you just love winning free stuff?

+5 MORE ENTRIES: Write about this giveaway on your own blog. Make sure to post a link to this giveaway and leave me 5 copies of your link via comment here.    

Contest ends Sunday, February 6, 2011 at midnight. Good luck to you all!

Body Butter from The Body Shop: Best Lotion Ever?

I’ve always been a lotion freak, mainly because when I was in grade school, my great-grandmother taught me the importance of taking care of my skin. After all, your skin does has to last a lifetime. As a fifth grader, I was putting on lotion twice a day–and it just became an easy step in my daily hygiene routine. I’ve never understood how people don’t use it every day–oh, the horror!

Being constantly on the lookout for great lotions, I was in heaven once lotion stores became in vogue back in the 1990′s. I never ventured into The Body Shop back then (even though I wanted to), because I assumed it was way out of my price range. However, once I was diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome, a chronic autoimmune disease which causes a person’s white blood cells to attack their moisture-producing glands, I had to step up my lotion game. My dry skin was getting seriously scary and out of control, and the lotions I was using just weren’t helping me anymore.

Since walking into that store for the first time, I’ve found my holy place. Their body butters are out of this world, and their vitamin C line does wonders for my face. I can’t believe the difference in my skin–and the scent from their body butters last all day. I always hit the sales, and take advantage of their rewards program. I’ve never paid full price for any of their products, which is why their lotion is as affordable as the lotions from their competitors.

Are you a fan of The Body Shop? Do you have a favorite lotion scent? I couldn’t live my life without the Satsuma Body Butter. Pure heaven–and a real crowd pleaser, too.

My Quest To Attend BEA 2011

Thanks to the kindness of strangers, I am “this close” to buying my ticket for the Book Bloggers Convention at the BookExpo America this year. I’m about $20 away from being able to buy my admission ticket and I can’t believe it. I am so thankful and amazed that people have come forward like this to help me out. One woman donated to me because she just found a job and knows first hand how hard unemployment is. Another woman told me I’m the ideal person who belongs at a book expo (I really am!), and another woman donated because she believes in paying it forward. I’ve even had a corporate sponsorship, which is something I never thought would happen. I feel so darn fancy!

I’m convinced that my angels came forward because of the good book karma I earned last year, when I donated books and souvenirs from last years BookExpo to 2 different charities, one that helps dying children and another that helps poor people. I even mailed out 10 books to friends who didn’t attend BEA, because those people dearly love books and should have been there themselves. Plus, I have been working my butt off trying to read and research great books and products so that my readers all have a chance to win something really cool and enjoyable.

I am extra thankful for all of the help this year because I am very depressed at having lost 2 jobs in 15 months. I’ve always been a hard worker and managed to work 2 (or 3 or even 4) jobs at a time for 20 years of my life. I lost my civil service job back in 9/09, and after 9 months of Michigan unemployment, I found a part-time job at a nonprofit. Then, after 6 months there, I lost that job due to illness. (I have a rare genetic connective tissue disease that causes a host of chronic conditions.) I am unsure what life has in store for me, work-wise if not health-wise, as my father died recently at an early age. This blog has been the one thing that keeps me going, because it is very hard to sit at home without a car and without a job. To say I am stressed out about coming up with the money to pay for airfare, hotel and my admission ticket, not to mention spending money, is an understatement. But I have to go, which is why I ask for your help in the first place.

Three weeks ago, I wrote a post asking for sponsors to help me attend the Book Blogger Convention and BookExpo America. I’d love it if you checked it out by visiting this link. If you are a fellow book blogger, book lover, business owner, or just a rich, kind soul, I’d love it if you’d consider helping me out. Airfare and hotel to New York is much more than I can afford all on my own. I will do my best to help you out, too, so please consider sponsoring me or donating to my BEA fund.

You may not understand why going is so exciting for me, so let me try to explain quickly.  Not only do I get to meet other book bloggers, but I will be meeting authors, agents, and a variety of publishing insiders. While I’m currently working on my own novel, I’m not going to push it; but I’ll admit it is very exciting to meet all of these people who working in the industry I want to join someday. However, the best part of attending these conferences is that I will find out about 1,000′s of upcoming books. It’s like Christmas, Halloween, and the prom all rolled into one, big, crazy 5 day book geek party.

I wrote a bunch of posts about my experience last year, and if you are into books or thinking about attending yourself, please read them. Trust me, you want to attend yourself, and do what you can to get yourself there!

Part 4: Why I went

Part 3: What I got

Part 2: Who I Met/What I saw

Part 1: What I did

My first impression of BEA

Confessions of a Rebel Debutante Book Giveaway

I’m thrilled to announce that I have 2 copies of Confessions of a Rebel Debutante by Anna Fields to giveaway!

  

Anna Fields, you had me at You can take the girl out of the South, but you can’t take the South out of the girl!  I love nothing more than reading a story set in the south, or devouring a good memoir.  Anna deliciously describes her childhood and what life was like going through (and eventually getting kicked out of) cotillion was like, beginning at age eleven, all the while making fun of everything about debbing including herself down to her big butt.  After seeing her photo on the back of my book, I had a hard time believing she was ever fat, because she reminds me a little bit of Reese Witherspoon.  But she forces me to believe it with tales of being a tall girl who wore glasses and had bad skin and a white girl ‘fro after reading her hilarious cheerleading tryout story to the tune of Too Legit to Quit.   

Who would have thought a Winston-Salem girl could escape society by getting an Ivy League education, move to New York and LA and work for major celebrities such as Diana Ross and Jill Zarin, let alone act alongside the best of young hollywood in a major motion picture called Mona Lisa Smile, and eventually become a successful playwright, standup comedian and writer for As the World Turns?  I can, after reading this book.  I cracked up when Ms. Fields starts her memoir off with this line – I’ve only got one good story: How I became a Rebel Debutante.  She’s got more than a hundred good stories in this book alone and I can not begin to cover most of them.  

 

As much as I enjoyed hearing what life was like behind the scenes of debbing, I found the heart of Anna’s story in her own personal story, and not the story of the other rich and often drunk debutantes.  Things really get rolling in the book when she began writing about her life at boarding school, the prestigious Wellington Academy run by a woman named Miss Freeze.  Anna never fit in to begin with, but once she became best friends with her wild roommate Alma who was a fan of public ladyscaping, known as the campus queer for her unladylike and non-deb ways, and who told outrageous tall tales that even involved the Playboy Mansion, well, fun and adventures began that were even better than attending cotillion-related events.  Alma, needless to say, was a bad influence on a Anna to begin with, but the two of them together had them both on some crazy adventures.  They got caught drinking at a college fraternity party, and once stumbled across a girl from school who had just been raped, but they still were the ones who got in trouble because they were caught vacationing on the wrong side of town in Myrtle Beach, let alone their biggest adventure that included a tragedy I’ll let you discover on your own. 

Who would have thought a Winston-Salem girl could escape society by getting an Ivy League education, move to New York and LA and work for major celebrities such as Diana Ross and Jill Zarin, let alone act alongside the best of young hollywood in a major motion picture called Mona Lisa Smile, and eventually become a successful playwright, standup comedian and writer for As the World Turns?  I can, after reading this book.  I cracked up when Ms. Fields starts her memoir off with this line – I’ve only got one good story: How I became a Rebel Debutante.  She’s got more than a hundred good stories in this book alone and I can not begin to cover most of them.  

You would be absolutely bonkers not to read this book, because not only would you not get to learn all about her very interesting and entertaining life, but you would miss out reading all of the celebrity dirt she has collected through the years.  My god, the things she has written in this book and didn’t even hint at on the cover or in the press!  An unnamed female Grey’s Anatomy star telling her they loved anal and want to make out with her, her interview with Dr. Ruth that had the famous sex counselor personally offended, and her time spent working a private waiting gig at Calabasas home for three sisters (who, to me, had to have been Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian) which ended in a FBI drug bust. 

Visit Indiebound to purchase a copy of Confessions of a Rebel Debutante for yourself.

CONFESSIONS OF A REBEL DEBUTANTE GIVEAWAY

RULES:

**Open to US & Canadian residents only.

**No P.O. boxes, please.

**Must include your email in your comment, unless you signed in to leave a comment with your “real” email.

**All comments must be separate to count as separate entries. For example, if you follow me on Facebook and Twitter, leave 2 comments, one with your Facebook name, and one with your Twitter name. Or, if you posted about the giveaway on your blog, leave 5 comments, all with the link to your giveaway.

HOW TO ENTER: 

**Mandatory Entry: Go to RebelDebutante.com and tell me what fun or interesting thing you learned or noticed on Anna’s website. 

+1 MORE ENTRY: Visit the Rebel Debutante blog and check out Anna’s jewelry and t-shirt shop. Tell me what you liked from her Rebel Deb wear. 

+1  ENTRY: Become friends with Anna Fields on Facebook. 

+1  MORE ENTRY: Follow @RebelDebutante on Twitter.  

+1  ENTRY: Follow me on Facebook. Make sure to leave your Facebook name in your comment.

+1  MORE ENTRY: Follow me on Facebook and share a link on your wall with the following comment “I entered The Girl from the Ghetto’s Confessions of a Rebel Debutante giveaway here http://bit.ly/faNvUC.” Make sure to leave a comment below with a link to your Facebook profile or with your Facebook name.

+1  MORE ENTRY: Follow me on Twitter. Make sure to leave your @Twitter name in your comment.

+1  MORE ENTRY: Follow me on Twitter and tweet the following “RT @NerdGirlBlogger I entered the @RebelDebutante book giveaway here http://bit.ly/faNvUC.” You can tweet 4x a day (Once every 6 hours) for even more chances to win. Make sure to leave a link to your tweet in a comment below.

+1  MORE ENTRY: Subscribe to my blog via email or Feedburner. 

+1  ENTRY: Follow me on Goodreads.

+1  ENTRY: Add Confessions of a Rebel Debutante to your to-read shelf on Goodreads.

+1 MORE ENTRY: Comment here and tell me why you need to win this giveaway! Do you enjoy memoirs, tales of naughty southern girls, reading in general, or, do you just love winning free stuff?

+5 MORE ENTRIES: Write about this giveaway on your own blog. Make sure to post a link to this giveaway and leave me 5 copies of your link via comment here.    

Contest ends Saturday, February 5, 2011 at midnight. Good luck to you all! 

CafePress Giveaway and Review

Have you ever wished you could design your own funny t-shirt, yoga mat, iPad case, thermos or even a blanket? Are you tired of buying the same old boring gifts and merchandise in traditional stores? Then you are in luck, because I am here to tell you all about CafePress!

 

CafePress is my absolute favorite place to find unique and personalized gifts – for any topic, interest, or brand! After a friend of mine referred me to their website to find a t-shirt she designed a few years ago, I was instantly hooked. I spent 2 hours looking around that night for items I wanted to buy and I’ve been visiting their website (and buying from them) ever since. Just check me out wearing 2 of my favorite t-shirts, my Dysautonomia/Fibromyalgia shirt and my Jane Austen t-shirt.

I believe CafePress is the perfect place to buy Christmas and birthday gifts. You can find just about anything you want on their website, and if you sign up for their emails, you can also get great deals and discounts. You can find just about everything you can think of on this website, so when CafePress contacted me to tell me they would let me review one of their products, I was thrilled, because I knew ALL of my readers would be interested in this post. That’s why I am more than excited to announce that Cafepress and I are teaming up to give 1 lucky winner a chance to pick their choice of a $60 stadium blanket. Here I am posing with mine.

When looking for a blanket, I was blown away by the number of choices I had. I knew I wanted something special that either represented my love of reading or my love of travel, so I decided to go with a Union Jack stadium blanket. Since it’s that time of year, I’m thinking this blanket would make a great Superbowl Sunday gift. You could easily find the perfect design for the football fan in your life!

I love my stadium blanket! Not only is it soft and warm, but it fits my long legs while I lay around on my couch. It fold up nicely and came in its own portable bag, so I plan on using it when I travel on airplanes, hotels and when I go to outdoor events, in addition to my coach potato moments. It’s the perfect thickness that allows it to be portable without being a burden to carry. Just like all of the previous items I’ve purchased from the store, this blanket definitely gets two thumbs up from me. If you haven’t shopped at CafePress.com yet then please consider doing so–because if you’re looking for that obscure, cute, funny or unique item, chances are they have it!

CAFEPRESS STADIUM BLANKET GIVEAWAY -$60 VALUE

RULES:

**Open to US & Canadian residents only.

**No P.O. boxes, please.

**Must include your email in your comment, unless you signed in to leave a comment with your “real” email.

**All comments must be separate to count as separate entries. For example, if you follow me on Facebook and Twitter, leave 2 comments, one with your Facebook name, and one with your Twitter name. Or, if you posted about the giveaway on your blog, leave 5 comments, all with the link to your giveaway.

HOW TO ENTER: 

**Mandatory Entry: Visit CafePress and tell me which blanket you’d want if you won this giveaway, and why you’d pick it. You must leave a link to the blanket’s webpage in your comment. The blanket you pick is the blanket you’ll win, so make sure you leave the correct link, such as:

“I picked the Union Jack blanket because I adore everything British. http://www.cafepress.com/+united_kingdom_union_jack_fla_stadium_blanket,476186490“

+1  ENTRY:  ”Like” CafePress on Facebook. 

+1  MORE ENTRY: Follow CafePress on Twitter.  

+1  ENTRY: Follow me on Facebook. Make sure to leave your Facebook name in your comment.

+1  MORE ENTRY: Follow me on Facebook and share a link on your wall with the following comment “I entered The Girl from the Ghetto’s CafePress Stadium Blanket giveaway here http://bit.ly/idBPwV.” Make sure to leave a comment below with a link to your Facebook profile or with your Facebook name.

+1  MORE ENTRY: Follow me on Twitter. Make sure to leave your @Twitter name in your comment.

+1  MORE ENTRY: Follow me on Twitter and tweet the following “RT @NerdGirlBlogger I entered the @CafePress stadium blanket giveaway here http://bit.ly/idBPwV.” You can tweet 4x a day (Once every 6 hours) for even more chances to win. Make sure to leave a link to your tweet in a comment below.

+1  MORE ENTRY: Subscribe to my blog via email or Feedburner. 

+1 MORE ENTRY: Comment here and tell me why you need to win this giveaway! Do you enjoy blankets and staying warm? Have you ever ordered something from Cafepress before? If so, tell me what. Or, do you just love winning free stuff?

+5 MORE ENTRIES: Write about this giveaway on your own blog. Make sure to post a link to this giveaway and leave me 5 copies of your link via comment here.    

Contest ends Superbowl Sunday - February 6, 2011 at midnight. Good luck to you all!