My sister is always full of ideas of what I should write about on this blog, you know, just in case I ever run out of ideas. Fortunately, I usually have an idea of certain things I want to say, even if I don't always have the energy to write about it...
But anyhow, my sister told me that lots of bloggers and other people on various social media platforms are taking the month of November, and in preparation for the holiday of Thanksgiving, are writing about something that they're thankful for every day. I didn't do that exactly, but today's post is in part inspired by that.
Because this is a thank you to you, my readers.
A few years ago, I was feeling very dejected. I wanted to make a difference in the world. I wanted to matter to people, and not just to my husband, kids, and small circle of friends. I wanted to be able to help people, and to be important to people, to leave a legacy behind me one day when I die. I wanted to feel I was doing something greater than just taking care of my family... not that that isn't very important, but it wasn't enough for me.
I knew I had some tricks up my sleeve to saving money, thought that maybe I'd be able to share those ideas with other people via my writing, and tried to get my writing published in various publications, like magazines, etc... But it was to no avail, and I was ready to give up.
And then I had the idea to maybe start a blog, see if maybe I could do it on my own, maybe help people out without first needing to get editors to approve my writing and publish it...
Thanks to you wonderful readers, this blog really took off. It's nearly 2 years old, and in that time, I've had over 1 million, 65 thousand, 600 hits... Mind boggling. And very flattering that so many people are coming to hear what I have to say!
But as much as I love my blog itself, sometimes the thing I love about it most is the community that has cropped up around it, such as on my Facebook fan page. Because I keep this blog for the "big things", but the little things like what I made for supper, my frugal find that day, or any frugality/health related question that I need advice on, I post on the facebook page, and there are so many wonderful people there to share their thoughts and opinions, many of whom I've got to know more personally.
Since the Facebook page has grown so much, when I saw that the amount of fans was approaching 3,000, I decided that when it reached the 3,000 mark, I'd be making a giveaway to give back to you readers for everything you do.
Because you ARE the blog.
Because without you, there would be no blog.
The only reason I've been writing this blog is because of you readers... with no readers, my interest would have petered off very quickly.
So thank you!
Well, you readers are awesome, and when I announced that I was trying to reach 3000 fans, you recommended my page left and right, and I reached my goal in a few hours, not in a few days like I thought it would take...
So I waited until after the weekend to do this giveaway.
As to this giveaway, I thought about what I wanted to give away, what you readers would enjoy... but I came up short. You're such a diverse group of women and men, all different ages, marital status, and location. I wanted to give something that could go to any one of my readers and still be useful.
And that's why I chose an Amazon.com
giftcard.Because pretty much anything you want, you can get on Amazon.com
You can get electronics.
You can get books.
You can get clothes.
You can get groceries.
You can get kitchen tools.
You can get linens.
You can get toys.
You can get cloth diapers...
I can't really think of anything you can't get on Amazon.com.
And that's why, I'm giving the lucky winner of this giveaway a free, 50 dollar gift certificate to Amazon.com.
So you can get whatever it is your heart desires. So long as it costs less than 50 dollars. And if it costs more than 50 dollars, you can use that gift card towards the cost of the item, and make up in the rest.
This gift card also covers shipping.
This giveaway, unlike giveaways on most blog, is not just open to readers in the US and Canada. Its open to anyone, all over the world. (And if there are any astronauts in outer space reading this, they're eligible as well.)
The giveaway is via Rafflecopter using this widget below. There are multiple ways to earn entries. (This is my first time using Rafflecopter, so if it isn't working properly, please tell me.)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The giveaway is open from now, until 12:01 AM on Tuesday, November 20th, 2012.
There are some entries that can be done once, and other entries that can be done once a day, for even more entries.
So, what are you waiting for?
P.S. One very important rule- if you don't leave an email address for me to contact you at, even if you win, you will not get the prize- it will be passed on to someone else. Make SURE you leave an email address with your entry!