The Complete Idiot’s Guide For Dummies Book Review Challenge

Star Wars or Star Trek? Spiderman or Batman? The Simpsons or Family Guy? Those are all easy choices for me (Star Wars, Spiderman and The Simpsons), but being asked to compare The Complete Idiot’s Guide and For Dummies books wasn’t all that simple. Still, I jumped at the chance to participate in The Complete Idiot’s Guide For Dummies Challenge.

 

I was sent the following items for my challenge:

• The Complete Idiot’s Guide bag
• Highlighter
• The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Social Media Marketing
• Social Media Marketing For Dummies
• The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Facebook
• Facebook For Dummies, 3rd Edition

I normally don’t like comparing books to one another, nor reading 4 books for one review and two videos in a month, but, because of the relevant topics all of the books discussed, I thought this would be a fun challenge. And it was, even though it put me behind in my other reading. Check out my videos to see who won each challenge.

CHALLENGE 1:

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Social Media Marketing by Jennifer Abernethy vs. Social Media Marketing For Dummies by Shiv Singh

CHALLENGE 2:

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Facebook by Joe Kraynak and Mikal E. Belicove vs. Facebook For Dummies, 3rd Edition by Carolyn Abram and Leah Pearlman

Want to buy the books I just reviewed via video blog, or vlog as the young folk say? Just use the code CIGBlog11 to get 50% off one order of regularly priced books from http://idiotsguide.com until October 31, 2011.

Like For Dummies on Facebook.

Follow @ForDummies on Twitter.

Like Complete Idiot’s Guides on Facebook.

Follow @IdiotsGuides on Twitter.

Unhappy Accidents: The Middle

In an episode of The Middle, Brick shares his sister Sue’s room. They accidentally knock a hole in her wall, try to fix it, but only make it worse. They attempt to cover it up by putting a poster over it, but of course it doesn’t work. Have you ever been in that situation with your sibling or good friend? Did you try to cover it up, or did you just admit it?

While Brick and Sue’s unhappy accident is funny on television, it isn’t in real life. I’ve never been in a situation like theirs–thankfully, as a child, I learned to come clean about my mistakes early on. Then again, I had no reason to hide anything, since my mother was, well, crazy.

Have you ever been in a situation similar to Brick and Sue’s? See how the Hecks brilliantly true-to-life kids cover up their accident on The Second Season of The Middle on DVD, currently available for pre-order (http://bit.ly/qliHr2) and hitting shelves on 9/27/11!

I have been hired by Warner Bros. WBWord division to promote The Middle Season Two on DVD.

Post Your Giveaway Linky

Welcome to my first-ever Sunday Giveaway Linky! You probably know how much I love hosting giveaways, which is why I decided to start my own weekly Post Your Own Giveaway Linky. Make sure to check back in each Sunday to find amazing giveaways to enter, or to list your own giveaways.

Want to grab my button, and help promote my own giveaway linky?

Grab my button code:

<a href=”http://www.thegirlfromtheghetto.wordpress.com”
target=”_blank”><img alt=”TheGirlfromtheGhetto”
src=”http://thegirlfromtheghetto.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/tgftgbutton.jpg”/></a>

Or, grab my button image link:

http://thegirlfromtheghetto.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/tgftgbutton.jpg

RULES:

• To list your giveaway, only use this format: Blog name-Prize-End Date, ex: “TGFTG-Win a $50 Gift Certificate to HalloweenandCostumes.com-Ends 10/9″
• Please link directly to the giveaway linky. Links to websites, main blog pages, or non-linky pages will be removed immediately.

Click here to list your giveaway now.

Visit my List Your Giveaway Linky page for a full listing of more giveaway linky sites.

ENTER MY CURRENT GIVEAWAYS:

Win a $50 Gift Certificate to HalloweenandCostumes.com-Ends 10/9

Win a $50 Gift Certificate to Buycostumes.com-Ends 10/5

Win Disney’s Spooky Buddies on DVD/Blue-Ray-Ends 9/29

Win a Mechatar Robot-Ends 9/28

Win a Betty Crocker Fun da-middles Cupcake Prize Pack-Ends 9/27

Win Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman-Ends 9/27

LOOKING FOR OTHER SUNDAY GIVEAWAY LINKY’S?

http://www.5minutesformom.com

http://blessedbeyondwords.com

http://www.coupongeek.net

http://www.cuckooforcoupondeals.com

http://www.dustinnikkimommyofthree.com

http://www.enteronlinesweeps.com

http://giveaways4prizes.com/

http://www.givemeneither.com

http://justanotherhat.blogspot.com

http://www.lookwhatmomfound.com

http://menonewmom.blogspot.com

http://www.middayescapades.com

http://www.mikishope.com

http://mysocalblog.com

http://www.one2try.net

http://www.savingmoneyplan.com

http://sugarpopribbons.blogspot.com

http://www.sweetdeals4moms.net

http://sweetpenniesfromheaven.com

http://thefreebieblogger.com

http://www.themommy-files.com

International Halloween Costume Giveaway: Win a $50 Gift Certificate to HalloweenandCostumes.com

Why do we all love Halloween so much? I know I love it because it was the best day of the entire year for me when I was a kid. I got to stay up late, dress up in a funny costume, and go door to door collecting candy and purging myself into a chocolate coma like a maniac. As an adult, I’ve continued to love Halloween, mainly because I enjoy dressing up and making people laugh with the costumes I wear, such as this one, provided to me by HalloweenandCostumes.com. I just had to have Harry Potter play air guitar. I was going for Pete Townsend, but hubby caught me on the down swing.

How do you celebrate Halloween each year? These days I just dress up, and go to a party. But back when I was young, fun and working, I’d host my annual kick-a** Halloween costume parties, spending about $500 on liquor, food, prizes and decorations. I can not tell you how much I miss those days, which is why I love hosting Halloween giveaways, for people who enjoy my favorite holiday as much as I do.

Thanks to the folks at HalloweenandCostumes.com, I get to dress up as Harry Potter this year. Not only did they send me the Harry Potter Deluxe Robe Adult Costume, the Harry Potter Gryffindor Deluxe Tie, the Harry Potter Broom, and Harry Potter Harry’s Glasses, they are letting me host a giveaway for a $50 gift certificate. The best part? The giveaway is open internationally! I rarely get to host international giveaways, and I’m so excited for all my readers around the world to enter! I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am with my robe, glasses, tie and broom. The robe is warm, plush, full length and very finely made. The glasses are lightweight, but not cheap looking or in danger of breaking before the end of the night. The tie is a tad bit short, but since the robe comes up so high, you’d never be able to tell. And the broom? So much fun. I do wish it was a little longer, but it still works. I got a huge laugh from my little guy today when I came down dressed as Harry Potter, offering to help him sweep up with my broom, as he was doing his chores.

I can’t begin to tell you how generous I think this company is. Not only did they send me all of these wonderful Halloween costume items, and offer to do a giveaway, but they also offer all of their customers “Free shipping to the USA all day every day.” If you visit their website, you’ll find costumes quickly by visiting links to their Adult Costumes, Sexy Costumes, Kid Costumes, Baby Costumes, Plus Size Costumes, New 2011 and my favorite, Sale. I love that they even have sexy plus size costumes that are actually cute and/or sexy, in sizes up to 4X. As someone who grew up skinny, and got chubby in her semi-old age, I truly appreciate the variety of size options they have to offer all women. They even have Club Wear, or what I like to call Halloween costumes you can wear to the bar any time of the year. They have the best variety of costumes I’ve seen on any online Halloween retailer website, and trust me, I’ve looked at 15 online stores just this week. My goodness, they even sell swimwear and have the Frank the Bunny costume from the movie Donnie Darko, which I would totally buy, if I was a rich (or even employed) person. If you are looking for variety, then HalloweenandCostumes.com is the answer to your prayers.

Make sure to also check out their Halloween Photo Contest—Best Group/Family/Couple Costume here.

Looking to buy a Halloween Costume this season? Visit HalloweenandCostumes.com and use the code SEPT10 to get 10% off everything. But act fast, because this discount ends September 25, 2011.

HALLOWEENANDCOSTUMES.COM $50 GIFT CERTIFICATE GIVEAWAY – 1 LUCKY WINNER

RULES:

**Open to International, U.S. and Canadian residents.

**No P.O. boxes, please.

**Do the mandatory entry and leave a comment, making sure to use a valid email address when you sign in. If you win this giveaway, you must respond to my email within 24 hours to claim your prize.

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

**Please read the additional rules here.

HOW TO ENTER:

**Mandatory Entry: Like HalloweenandCostumes on Facebook.

+1  MORE ENTRY: Go to their website, HalloweenandCostumes.com, and tell me what you would buy if you won the $50 gift certificate..

+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 International Halloween Giveaway for a $50 Gift Certificate from HalloweenandCostumes here http://bit.ly/pQnlQw. 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 @HotCostumes 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 to #Win an International #Halloween #Giveaway for a $50 Gift Certificate from @HotCostumes here http://bit.ly/pQnlQw. You can tweet 6x a day (Once every 4 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 giveaways and let me know which one you entered, by leaving a comment below.

+1 MORE ENTRY: Follow me on StumbleUpon. Make sure to leave me your name.

+1 MORE ENTRY: Rank me on Klout by giving me a K+ in Halloween or Blogging.

+1 MORE ENTRY: Comment here and tell me why you need to win this giveaway. Do you love dressing up for Halloween? Do you go all out each year? Is Halloween your favorite holiday, 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, October 9, 2011 at midnight. Good luck to you all!

Halloween Giveaway: Walt Disney’s Spooky Buddies DVD/Blu-Ray Combo Pack

Normally, I don’t host giveaways for items I haven’t personally reviewed. I feel it is important to have the chance to talk to my readers about the item I am offering, rather than just throwing up some info provided to me by a publicist. However, I am breaking my own rule today, and offering one lucky winner the chance to win a Spooky Buddies DVD/Blue-Ray, mainly because I love Golden Retrievers and Halloween, and the idea of both of them together in a movie sounds like crazy fun to me. I’ve only seen some of the other Bud movies, but never a Buddies movie, so I can only imagine how this movie would appeal to anyone who like puppies.

ABOUT THE MOVIE:

Disney’s irresistible talking Buddies are back in an all-new movie that takes them for a spooky new adventure. With the help of some unexpected new friends–Pip, Zelda, Rodney, and Skip, the buddies must stop Warwick the Warlock and save the world from his dastardly deeds.

To purchase your own Spooky Buddies DVD/Blue-Ray, visit Amazon.com.

SPOOKY BUDDIES DVD/BLU-RAY GIVEAWAY – 1 LUCKY WINNER

RULES:

**Open to U.S. and Canadian residents only.

**No P.O. boxes, please.

**Do the mandatory entry and leave a comment, making sure to use a valid email address when you sign in. If you win this giveaway, you must respond to my email within 24 hours to claim your prize.

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

**Please read the additional rules here.

HOW TO ENTER:

**Mandatory Entry: Check out the Spooky Buddies app on Facebook, and tell me who is your favorite buddy, or what you liked, or found cute or funny about the app.

+1  MORE ENTRY: Like Disney Spooky Buddies 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 Disney Halloween Giveaway for a Spooky Buddies DVD/Blu-Ray here http://bit.ly/oUP2mH. 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 @DisneyPictures 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 to #Win a #Halloween #Giveaway for the @DisneyPictures Spooky Buddies DVD/Blu-Ray here http://bit.ly/oUP2mH. You can tweet 6x a day (Once every 4 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 giveaways and let me know which one you entered, by leaving a comment below.

+1 MORE ENTRY: Follow me on StumbleUpon. Make sure to leave me your name.

+1 MORE ENTRY: Rank me on Klout by giving me a K+ in Halloween or Blogging.

+1 MORE ENTRY: Comment here and tell me why you need to win this giveaway. Do you love the Buddies movies? Do you go crazy when you see puppies? Is Halloween your favorite holiday, 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 Thursday, September 29, 2011 at 9 p.m. Good luck to you all!