How to Talk to an Autistic Kid by Daniel Stefanski – Book Giveaway and Review

lf you have been following my posts about my experience at BookExpo America, you may remember me writing about meeting Daniel Stefanski and his book, How to Talk to an Autistic Kid, here.

As a stepmother to a son with Asperger’s Syndrome, I was crying like a baby by page 2 of this book. Daniel Stefanski wrote this book while in the 8th grade, and his attempt to educate both children and adults about Autism is remarkable. I love how he asks readers to step up and be heroes, by telling them they should stick up for Autistic children if they see them bullied. He asks that we notice these children who are sitting by themselves, in their own worlds, and talk to them, as they might be lonely.

I had the pleasure of meeting Daniel last month at BookExpo America, and he was a very charming and bright young man, who was quite interested in both my camera and the fact that I had been writing a book of my own for a long time (I won’t tell you how long, because it is truly embarrassing). He reminds me so much of my own son, and I just wanted to hug him so badly, because I believed with all my heart that he had written a book that should be read by every child and adult in the entire world. After reading the book, I can see my instinct about him was right.

I asked my stepson to read this book, while I was writing this review and giveaway post. My boy said the following about the book, before he had to dash off to work on building his Lego in progress: “I like it. It actually helps kids like me that have Autism learn about their condition more. I wish kids would be nicer to kids with Aspergers and Autism, and I think they should read this book.” Doesn’t that just break your heart? It certainly does mine, because so many kids and adults don’t understand simple things about kids like my boy–and I wish they would.

How to Talk to an Autistic Kid answers many questions readers might have about their Autistic peers, like:

• Why does my Autistic friend sometimes talk too loud or stand too close?
• Why does she talk so much about the same topic over and over?
• He won’t even look at me. Does he really want to be friends?
• Why does she complain about the lights (or the noise, or the smell)?
• Why does it seem like my friend doesn’t understand what I’m saying?
• Is he smart?
• How should I act when we’re together?
• What can we do together?
• What can I do to help Autistic kids?

If you are a librarian, teacher, parent, brother, sister, counselor, aunt, uncle, grandparent, friend, or book lover, please buy this book, and share it with everyone you can. It’s short, sweet, and very powerful when it comes to understanding both Autism and human behavior.

To purchase your own copy of How to Talk to an Autistic Kid, visit FreeSpirit.com now.

HOW TO TALK TO AN AUTISTIC KID GIVEAWAY – 3 LUCKY WINNERS

RULES:

**Open to U.S. and 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.

**Please read the additional rules here.

HOW TO ENTER:

**Mandatory Entry: Go to Free Spirit Publishing’s website, FreeSpirit.com, and tell me what fun or interesting thing you noticed there.

+1  MORE ENTRY: Like Free Spirit Publishing on Facebook.

+1  MORE 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 How to Talk to an Autistic Kid by Daniel Stefanski book giveaway here http://bit.ly/mtVl4Z. Make sure to leave a comment below with a link to your Facebook profile message, or at least with your Facebook name.

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

+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 Enter the @FreeSpiritBooks #giveaway for How to Talk to an Autistic Kid by Daniel Stefanski here http://bit.ly/mtVl4Z. 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: Enter one of my other current giveaways and tell me which one.

+1  MORE ENTRY: Follow me on Goodreads.

+1  MORE ENTRY: Follow Daniel Stefanski on Goodreads.

+1 MORE ENTRY: Add How to Talk to an Autistic Kid to your to-read shelf on Goodreads.

+1 MORE ENTRY: Comment here and tell me why you need to win this giveaway! Do you have a child, love a child, teach a child, or just know a child (or adult) with Autism or Asperger’s Syndrome? Are you a librarian, teacher, or counselor who works with or has worked with Autistic children? Do you enjoy 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 http://thegirlfromtheghetto.wordpress.com, and leave me 5 copies of your link via comment here.

Contest ends Saturday, July 9, 2011 at midnight. Good luck to you all!

Jennifer Weiner’s New Book, New Show and Her “Making Whoopie” Book Tour

Last night I had the double pleasure of reading Jennifer Weiner’s latest book, Then Came You (which goes on sale July 12, 2o11–pre-order your own copy here) , and watching her new television show that debuted on ABC Family, State of Georgia.

As a longterm fan of Jennifer’s, I’m happy to report two things–one, I really enjoyed both her new book and her new show, and two, Jennifer is going out on tour again this summer. While she isn’t coming to my own state of Michigan, I thought you ladies would love to know where she is visiting, and which dessert she is bringing to the party!

Tuesday, July 12
NEW YORK
7:00 PM
Barnes & Noble
33 East 17th Street
New York, NY
Whoopie pies provided by BAKED

*As part of the Atria Literary Salon Series, the NYC event will be broadcast live via Livestream.com!

Wednesday, July 13
PRINCETON, NJ
1:00 PM
Princeton Public Library
65 Witherspoon Street
Princeton, NJ
Whoopie pies provided by Sugar + Sunshine Bakery

 Wednesday, July 13
PHILADELPHIA
7:30 PM
Philadelphia Free Library
1901 Vine St.
Philadelphia, PA
Whoopie pies provided by FlyingMonkey Bakery

Thursday,July 14
CHICAGO
7:00 PM
Hawthorn Middle School North
201 Hawthorn Parkway
Vernon Hill, IL
Free tickets: CLICK HERE
Whoopie pies provided by Bleeding Heart Bakery

Friday, July 15
KANSAS CITY, MO
7:00 PM
Unity Temple on the Plaza
707 W. 47th Street,
Kansas City, MO
Tickets: CLICK HERE
Whoopie pies provided by Bloom Baking Co.

To find out more about Jennifer, her new book, or her new show, visit her website.

Everything Beautiful Began After: A Novel by Simon Van Booy – Book Giveaway and Special Offer

You may remember my plea earlier this year, asking you to consider reading anything by author Simon Van Booy in this post, Why You Should Be Reading Simon Van Booy. I said

After I read a Simon Van Booy book, I feel a little more alive, shiny and loving, if that makes sense to you. Simon has this rare gift of talking about life and love that very few authors have ever shown to me. I believe with all my heart that anyone in need of a few moments of joy must read his books. The Secret Lives of People in Love and Love Begins in Winter, both collections of short stories, were two of the most beautiful books I have ever read.

Today, I am happy to tell you that Simon has a new book coming out soon, his first novel, Everything Beautiful Began After: A Novel. I’ve already got it tucked away on my “great books” bookshelf, right next to my girls Jane Austen and Haven Kimmel. Of course, I loved it–in fact, it is the best book I’ve read in 2011.  Set against the spectacular backdrop of an Athens summer that changed the lives of three tortured souls forever, Everything Beautiful Began After: A Novel is not your typical story of soul-searching abroad, or an entangled romantic triangle. This novel is told with Van Booy’s trademark gift to write about love, truth, beauty and compassion in a way no other author does, while attempting to turn on all the lights when it comes to family, friendship and loss by examining questions of lifelong secrets, romantic and family failures, sorrow, courage, acceptance, and what it means to be alone.

I love so many things about this book–how the Prologue ends with a single perfect line, setting us up for a full circle story filled with all sorts of interpretations as to what it is to come–“All she knows is that someone fell, and that everything beautiful began after.” I love how one of the three characters, Rebecca, a young French artist, was once a shy ex-flight attendant who was waiting for the moment to reveal her true self, looking in the mirror to find the right face to put on as she served her passengers tea and coffee. Not only did her story remind me of myself, as I was a shy ex-flight attendant (and waitress, cabana girl and bartender) who played the roles of Alice, Vera or Flo for 20 years, I loved it because Rebecca somehow reminded me of my own childhood, which I spent listening to the more melancholy songs by The Beatles, and how I would sing Eleanor Rigby repeatedly as a child, while swinging away to great heights at the park around the block, when I didn’t have my nose buried in a book.

I loved the book because of the well-dressed American named George, who, just like Rebecca (who he is hopelessly in love with), spent his childhood learning to be alone, a result of living a life due to the “history of missing people.” He makes up for the way he feels untidy inside by always dressing up in a suit and tie, but still manages to spend a good part of his life drunk. For people like myself, reading books about characters that are so close to who we actually are (or were, as I was once a best-dressed alcohol abusing woman in my twenties), it is so comforting, even though it is hard to admit to anyone in real life that we are such beautiful, complicated, jaded souls.

I love the book because of Henry Bliss, a young British archaeologist (who is also in love with Rebecca) who found something precious as a young boy, and who believed it belonged to everyone, and not just him. He was a man of faith at age of 9, but was also a broken man who was unable to form lasting friendships, until he met Rebecca and George. Like many people (including me) who have suffered a traumatic childhood, Henry has spent a lifetime building walls around himself, while digging endlessly to discover the true lives of others.

It is a book of aching beauty and compassion, that circles around the essence of what it is to be alive. To parallel that sentiment, Simon has Henry circle the world after a terrible tragedy, having him spend all of his inheritance on flights and hotels, while traveling endlessly for years, even having Henry leave the hospital while still wearing pajamas and a hospital gown, carrying all of his money in a bag. I also love that Simon has Henry write letters to “someone” (I’m not going to ruin it for you) on stationary from hotels all over the world, and one was written from stationary from The Pantlind, a hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which Henry describes as, “I think like me, it was once grand and hopeful. But now people sleep under cardboard boxes in the streets at night.” Not only am I from Michigan and love it when my state gets mention in any book, I know Simon actually does love Detroit, because he once told me that the people here love reading so much, they stole all of the Harry Potter books (right before the release date) from the bookstore he was speaking at. I didn’t have the heart to tell him not to be charmed by that, but he was, and it still charms me to think that his memory of a past visit to Michigan made its way into this book.

Everything Beautiful Began After is a novel that will haunt you with its compassion for characters who have broken souls, due to the tender vulnerability of their unforgettable childhoods. Beautifully written, touchingly told, Van Booy radiates pain, fears, love and freedom on every page of this book.  Believe me when I tell you that this book is absolutely unforgettable. Not only did this book bring me to tears, it gives me hope that my own life will be filled with beauty after my own personal tragedies. Normally, I like to read authors who either inspire me to think by the stories they tell, or by fascinating me by the subject matter they write about. Simon Van Booy manages to do the rare trick of fulfilling both of m readers needs, and I can tell you he is as wonderful off the page as he is on the page, as I’ve met him twice.

I’ll leave you with one last quote from the book, which occurred in Sicily, near the end of the novel, “Humans come and go–but the thread of hope is like a rope we pull ourselves up with.”

To celebrate the release of Everything Beautiful Began After, HarperPerennial is offering ALL of Simon Van Booy’s individual e-book short stories for just $1.99. I’d suggest starting off with Love Begins in Winter, as it is the perfect introduction to his writing. You can find this story at Amazon, Barnes & Nobel, and Google.

Why not take a moment to listen to Simon one of his stories now? I’d really appreciate it if you did.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Simon Van Booy was born in London and grew up in rural Wales and Oxford. After playing football in Kentucky, he lived in Paris and Athens. In 2002 he was awarded an MFA and won the H.R. Hays Poetry Prize. He is the author of The Secret Lives of People in Love and Love Begins in Winter, which in 2009 won the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. He is the author if a children’s book, Pobble’s Way, and the editor of three philosophy books entitled, Why We Fight, Why We Need Love, and Why Our Decisions Don’t Matter, and his essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian, and on NPR.

He lives in New York City where he teaches at the School of Visual Arts and is involved in the Rutgers Early College Humanities program for young adults living in under-served communities. His work has been translated into ten languages.

His debut novel, Everything Beautiful Began After: A Novel, will be released in the United States, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom on July 5, 2011. I BEG you to pre-order your own copy, which you can do by visiting Amazon.com now.

EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL BEGAN AFTER GIVEAWAY – 3 LUCKY WINNERS

RULES:

**Open to U.S. and 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.

**Please read the additional rules here.

HOW TO ENTER:

**Mandatory Entry: Go to Simon’s website, SimonVanBooy.com, and tell me what fun or interesting thing you noticed there.

+1  MORE ENTRY: Like Simon Van Booy on Facebook.

+1  MORE 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 Everything Beautiful Began After: A Novel by Simon Van Booy book giveaway here http://bit.ly/lsTVQo. Make sure to leave a comment below with a link to your Facebook profile message, or at least with your Facebook name.

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

+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 Enter the @HarperPerennial book #giveaway for Everything Beautiful Began After by @SimonVanBooy here http://bit.ly/lsTVQo. 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: Enter one of my other current giveaways and tell me which one.

+1  MORE ENTRY: Follow me on Goodreads.

+1  MORE ENTRY: Follow Simon Van Booy on Goodreads.

+1 MORE ENTRY: Add Everything Beautiful Began After: A Novel to your to-read shelf on Goodreads.

+1 MORE ENTRY: Comment here and tell me why you need to win this giveaway! Do you love reading literary fiction or books about love and loss? Have you ever suffered from loneliness, spent time isolated from the world, wanted to fall in love with someone, or experienced a devastating loss? Do you enjoy 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 http://thegirlfromtheghetto.wordpress.com, and leave me 5 copies of your link via comment here.

Contest ends Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at midnight. Good luck to you all!

Go Picnic “Ready-to-Eat Meals” Giveaway

Are you tired of eating fast food when you need to eat on the go? I know I am, which is why I was thrilled when GoPicnic.com offered me the chance to review their products, as well as host a giveaway for them on my blog. I first heard of GoPicnic when I was vacationing in Chicago, and had wanted to try their meals, which my hotel offered as a to-go lunch option. Now that I’ve finally had the chance to taste their meals, I’m bummed out that I didn’t go with my instincts in Chicago, as I loved, loved, loved the products I tasted.

I received the Salami + Cheese: Classic Deli Meal, which includes Old Wisconsin Beef Salami Slices, Late July Organic Crackers, Copper Cowbell Asiago Cheese Spread, Sweet Perry Orchards Cashew Medley Fruit & Nut Mix and a Late July Organic Dark Chocolate Sandwich Cookie. This meal had 10g protein, 2g fiber, had 370 calories, and was utterly delicious, and sells for $4.99. I absolutely loved the Asiago cheese spread and was surprised at how good the cookie was, too. As you can see from my pictures, I added a pretzel roll to my meal, making it utterly filling.

I also received the Hummus + Crackers: All-Natural Meal, a balanced meal featuring Wild Garden Hummus Dip, Crunchmaster Multi-Seed Crackers, Seapoint Farms Dry Roasted Edamame, Sweet Perry Orchards Baja Blend Fruit & Nut Mix and a Terra Nostra Organic Dark Chocolate Square. 24g protein and 12g fiber, 410 calories, and was also mouth-watering good. The Wild Garden Hummus Dip was the best store-bought Hummus I’ve ever had, and the crackers were out of this world good. It is a steal at the price of $4.99.

Lastly, I received the Parmesan Peppercorn Cheese Spread: 8 Pack (8 – 0.75 oz. cups), a delicious gourmet cheese spread that blends the flavors of Parmesan cheese and peppercorns together. While I enjoyed this cheese very much, GoPicnic is limiting me to offer only 2 meals for my giveaway, so I’m going with the other meals rather than this cheese. You may purchase this cheese is currently on sale for $3.99.

GoPicnic offers a variety of meals, ones that are all-natural, gluten-free, vegan, kosher, GMO free, and have no artificial flavors. Actually, all of their meals are made with no trans fats, no high fructose corn syrup, no added MSG, and have no artificial flavors or colors. Who wouldn’t want to eat something so healthy and tasty while traveling, or even on a picnic or as an alternative to fast food on any occasion? I know I would.

You may purchase GoPicnic meals on Amazon.com or at GoPicnic.com. If you aren’t into the whole online shopping thing, you may also purchase them at Costco, Cost Plus World Market and Wegman’s nationwide.

Ready to buy your own GoPicnic meals? Sign up to get 10% your order off here.

GO PICNIC GIVEAWAY – 1 LUCKY WINNER

RULES:

**Open to U.S. 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.

**Please read the additional rules here.

HOW TO ENTER:

**Mandatory Entry: Go to GoPicnic.com and tell me what fun or interesting thing you noticed there.

+1  MORE ENTRY: Like Go Picnic on Facebook.

+1  MORE 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 Go Picnic giveaway here http://bit.ly/kRbz73. Make sure to leave a comment below with a link to your Facebook profile message, or at least with your Facebook name.

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

+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 Ready to eat meals #giveaway by @GoPicnic here http://bit.ly/kRbz73. 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: Enter one of my other current giveaways and tell me which one.

+1 MORE ENTRY: Comment here and tell me why you need to win this giveaway! Do you love eating? Have you tried Go Picnic meals before? Do you enjoy finding healthier meal choices, 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 http://thegirlfromtheghetto.wordpress.com, and leave me 5 copies of your link via comment here.

Contest ends Sunday, July 3, 2011 at midnight. Good luck to you all!

Junk Food Care Package Giveaway by Gourmet Gift Baskets

When GourmetGiftBaskets.com asked me to review one of their Junk Food Care Packages (and host a giveaway) for my blog, I was really excited. I love to eat junk food, and the last time I received a care package was back in 1989, when I was a freshman in college. My care package arrived just a few weeks ago, and thankfully, I had a party to go to that same day, so I was able to share many of my mini treats with my friends, as well as my husband.

I was supposed to receive the following 28 mini snacks in my gourmet gift basket:

· Dorito’s Nacho Cheese Flavor by Frito Lay
· Rice Krispies Treats by Kellogg’s
· Oreo’s by Nabisco
· Easy Mac Microwavable Macaroni and Cheese Dinner by Kraft
· Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies by Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookie Co.
· Plain M&M’s by Mars
· Sour Patch Kids by Cadbury Adams Canada
· Pringles Snack Stacks by Procter & Gamble
· Snyder’s Pretzels by Snyder’s of Hanover
· Original Slim Jim’s by Con Agra Foods
· Cheddar Cheese Pretzel Combos by Mars
· Cheez-Its by Sunshine
· Cheddar and Bacon Potato Skins by T.G.I.Friday’s
· Ritz Crackers and Cheese Dip by Kraft
· Cracker Jack’s by Frito Lay
· Yoo-Hoo Chocolate Drink by Yoo-Hoo
· Lifesavers Gummies by Wrigley’s
· Welch’s Fruit Snacks by Welch’s
· Tootsie Pops by Tootsie Roll Industries
· Original Skittles by Mars.
· Twizzlers by Hershey
· Gobstoppers by Nestle
· Pixy Stix 3-pack by Nestle
· Smartfood Popcorn by Frito Lay
· Chewy Granola Bars by Quaker Oats Co.
· Planters Nuts on the Go by Kraft
· David Sunflower Seeds by Con Agra Foods
· Cinnabon Original by Kellogg

Instead, I received the following items, shown above, as GGB notes that they do substitute items as needed. Despite their warning, I’m still quite sad that the Cinnabon didn’t make its way to me, as it was one of the main reasons for picking this particular gift box. Thankfully, I gobbled the M&M’s and my mini Slim Jim to drown my sorrows in. As you can see, the size of the snacks are small, like the ones that you can buy for 50-75 cents at your local store. With a name like Gourmet Gift Baskets, I can’t help but expected a bit more for thirty-five dollars they normally charge for this package. At the very least, I expected the Junk Food Care package to come in some sort of basket, rather than just a slightly dented shipping box. To be completely honest, if I had paid for this item myself, I would have felt a little ripped off, especially since my Oreos were crushed and my Yoo-Hoo tasted slightly funny, even though it had a valid expiration date. However, I do realize that if you are the sort of person who doesn’t have time to shop for gifts and take them to the post office (or FedEx, UPS, etc.) to ship to your loved ones, then this is the way to go for those types of people. I’m the sort of girl who has a plentiful stock of a variety of gifts/gift bags/baskets in her basement closet. But if you aren’t me, then perhaps this item, and some of their other gift baskets are right up your alley. I certainly enjoyed eating many of the snacks sent my way, as I am a junk food junky, but I still wish the size of the treats were just a bit larger.

GourmetGiftBaskets.com offers a wide variety of gift baskets–you can find anything from Pet Gift Baskets to Italian Gift Baskets to Cupcake Gift Baskets.

Want to buy your own Junk Food Care Package? You can do so now for $34.99.

JUNK FOOD CARE PACKAGE GIVEAWAY BY GOURMET GIFT BASKETS– 1 LUCKY WINNER

RULES:

**Open to U.S. and 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.

**Please read the additional rules here.

HOW TO ENTER:

**MANDATORY ENTRY: Like Gourmet Gift Baskets on Facebook. Make sure to leave me your Facebook name.

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

+1  MORE ENTRY: Visit GourmetGiftBaskets.com and tell me which gift basket you would pick for yourself.

+1  MORE 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 Gourmet Gift Baskets Giveaway here http://bit.ly/jfOxCd. Make sure to leave a comment below with a link to your Facebook profile message, or at least 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 Junk Food Care Package #giveaway by @gmtgiftbaskets here http://bit.ly/jfOxCd. 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: Enter one of my other current giveaways and tell me which one.

+1 MORE ENTRY: Comment here and tell me why you need to win this giveaway, or which item you would have liked to chow down on if you had received the same basket as I did.

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

Contest ends Saturday, July 2, 2011 at midnight. Good luck to you all!