The Purolator guy is my secret lover.

I imagine the neighbors must talk.

No doubt they see the Purolator man coming to my door several times a week and wonder what it is that brings him there.  

I see them peer out their windows as the truck pulls up.  I watch them chatting as they clean their laneways,   huddled together giggling and whispering as I invite him in. 

Sure, they see him with packages rushing through the snow to get to me. They know its his job to bring them to me but still they theorize.  "Empty " they whisper he passes them by. "A ruse" says one "she can't possibly have that many things shipped to her house legitimately". "DRUGS" chimes in the nosy older lady from #62 down the way.  "LOVERS!!" exclaims the new chatty neighbor who lives kiddie corner to me. 

Wouldn't it surprise them to know that I don't even know my secret lover's name!!   Wouldn't the real reason he visits shock them!  I suppose I could tell them the boring reason he really shows up is that he is delivering my wins and that since starting blog contests last April the Purolator guy and I have become pretty close friends. He visits twice a week at least.  I know his wife's name, his dog's, his daily stories, the trials and tribulations of delivery driving. We chat it up now like old friends would at a coffee shop. But... Its certainly more fun NOT to tell them why he is really there. 

 I wonder what the neighbors say when my Purolator secret lover leaves and the FedEx guy shows up minutes later only to be followed closely by the Canada Post van!   Oh the stories I must give them ! 

Boutique Hermosa Pettiskirt Giveaway

Hi all!

I found another really great giveaway for you.  Its no secret that I love Pettiskirts !  I don't have a little girl to dress them in but I do have lots of nieces to dress them up in!  I know just the special little girl to dress in this if I win this giveaway.

If you would like to win a Pettiskirt  for the special little girl in your life I suggest you go check out this giveaway from Boutique Hermosa. You can win the pettiskirt of your choice here: 
http://jessicalovestosavemoney.blogspot.com/2010/02/giveaway-petty-skirt-from-boutique.html

Good Luck Everyone!! 

WINNER - First Ever Giveaway on Lady Luck's Abode ($25 Amazon GC)

Hi all!!

It is time to announce the winner of  my First Ever Giveaway on Lady Luck's Abode.  I was ecstatic to see entries climbing steadily each day! You guys are awesome!  You made my first giveaway a huge success and I really appreciate you all stopping by!  I loved hearing where you all were from and can't wait to get to know you all better.

OK.. without further ado.. THE WINNER IS:   #96    H. Mcnaron  !!! 

h. mcnaron said... 96

follower from georgia.

CONGRATULATIONS   H. Mcnaron  my new follower from Georgia !!  I am off to shoot you an email ! 

Finders Friday

What is Finders Friday you ask ?  Well, I have decided that I just don't know enough about my readers (don't worry.. I am not going to ask for your bank account # or anything crazy like that) .  I have loved reading through the giveaway entries so far because it has allowed me to find out where some of my readers are located.  It is exciting to see the world coming together on my blog (ok.. so not the world yet since I only have it open to U.S and Canada..but I'll work on that k? ) .

So today I would like to FIND something out about my readers.  And since this Lady Luck's Abode.. I thought maybe my question would be giveaway/contest/win related.

Here it is :  What is your biggest win yet and how long have you been contesting?

Alright.. so its 2 questions :)  but you guys are smart and bored right? You can handle that !

My answer:  I have been contesting for 5 years.  My biggest win was $450 Oakley Sunglasses with Bluetooth built in.  My son recently won $500 in Gift cards along with a Mr. Christie prize pack.  Lucky bum !  :)

Anyone up to answer?

Guess And Coach Handbag Giveaway!

I found a great giveaway - Its a Guess and Coach Handbag Giveaway. You can enter here:  http://beauty-bow.blogspot.com/2010/02/giveaway-timeyay-so-let-me-tell-you.html  . Details are at the site. Open Worldwide.  Looks like one bag is gently used (and I want it !! ) and from what I can tell the others are new! Great Giveaway. Head on over and enter! Good Luck!

Enter to win some great products!!!

Hi all!!

I found a super fantabulous giveaway today and I just thought I would share it all with you!!  (Cause I loves ya of course :) yup. I loves ya's )

Head on over to Fashionable Bambino to Enter this awesome contest for 3 super awesome products.

You can win :

1. A pack of Powerhouse Hit The Deck Excercise Cards
2. SOTHYS Aroma-Sothys Energizing Bath Essences Tablets
3. Gone in 60 seconds Instant Wrinkle Relief from  Aminogenesis

Those are some great prizes!! Told ya I loves ya!!

You can enter here:  http://www.thefashionablebambino.com/2010/02/08/giveaway-galore-time-from-kmr-communications/

Contest only open to Canada and USA .

Good Luck!!

CANADA WINS GOLD ON HOME SOIL!!!!

I just feel like shouting it from the rooftops!

CANADA WINS GOLD ON HOME SOIL!!!

I am so excited to be sitting here with my son and parents watching history in the making!! Alexandre Bilodeau of Canada takes home the Gold in Mens Moguls!  It was a phenomenol run ! 

To make it even more amazing he bumped Dale Begg-Smith to Silver which brings me joy cause that Dale guy really rubs me wrong. I was not looking forward to his smug Canadian hating face in spot number 1.

So SUPER CONGRATS to Alex.  It couldnt' have happened to a nicer guy!! His speech after his win brought us to tears.  Amazing man.  Amazing race to the Gold!!

GO CANADA!!!!!!!

A Valentine's Surprise

This is the loot I received for Valentine's Day from my 9 year old boy.  Being a single mom I never expected anything for Valentine's at all.  I was certainly taken aback when he came downstairs struggling to carry this all in his arms.  And yes, those are Lindor chocolates in that heart and yes that is a Lindor Rose.  Also included were 2 stuffed animals, my favorite easter chocolates, my chocolate covered cherries and one singing pug card.  He went completely overboard.  I have no idea what possessed him to do so.  I honestly give him one small heart chocolate every Valentine's.  We celebrate love and togetherness but not usually through the commercial side of things.  It is adorable though.  Apparently Grampa took him to the store and my son refused to let him pay and refused to put anything back.  At the cash when the giant total came up on screen Grampa suggested that maybe mom doesn't need so much.  "Grampa" said my son.  " I don't think you understand how much I love my mom".  Grampa said the cashier almost cried.  My heart certainly melted. 

    HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE !!

Did anyone else get an unexpected surprise or gesture this morning?  I would love to hear it!  Or just tell me how you plan to spend your day!

Jennifer Heil Wins Silver!!

  My heart is pumping with the expectation of something that should have been but wasn't.  I haven't quite come down from the exhileration of watching the Olympic women's moguls that were to say the least INTENSE.  Leaders fell.  Underdogs surprised us.   Adrenaline soared. 

  Jennifer Heil of Canada, a favorite and one of the top females in her sport , was second last to go and had a near perfect run that put her in spot #1 for the medals.  She just inched fellow Canadian Chloe Dufour -Lapointe out of her bronze medal spot.  My little man and I watched with breath held as the last skier, American Hannah Kearney, took her place at the starting point.  If you have ever watched moguls you will know that the runs take all of 30 seconds (sometimes less) for skiers to complete.  It honestly felt like the longest 30 seconds of my life.  Even longer were the 15 seconds or so they took to tally the score after Kearney executed her own near perfect run.

Kearney scored 26.63 .  Heil scored 25.69. 

  Americans scoop us for the Gold and I can't say they didn't deserve it.  Kearney's run was nothing short of awesome.  I am slightly dissapointed that the Canadians were not able to hold onto first place thereby making history by finally getting a Gold on home soil.  That said I am also NOT dissapointed at all.  Canadians did fabulous!  More than fabulous.  They should be incredibly proud of their competition overall.  I am incredibly proud of them.  Jenn Heil, you didn't lose Gold.  You won Silver!! Congrats Jenn Heil and Congrats Canadian women!!

My Blog is Featured!!

Hi All!!

Just dropping a note to say my blog was featured today on http://www.beautifulblogdesigns.blogspot.com/ .

You can find the write up here!! http://beautifulblogdesigns.blogspot.com/2010/02/before-and-after-series-begins.html

A big Thank you to Amanda for the beautiful write up.

Little Man is Growing Up.

I awoke this morning to hear little feet moving through the house. I shouldn't say little feet really, not only is he 9 and tall with a shoe size soon to match my own but he walks a little heavy on his feet. Maybe I should say I awoke to a small elephant like creature who resembles my nine year old tromping through the house. :)

My alarm hadn't quite gone off so I knew it was early and  being a mom I automatically worried that maybe he hadn't slept well or wasn't feeling well and thats what had caused him to be moving around at such early hours.

I travelled downstairs to check out the scene. I quickly discovered that there was no tummy ache or ailment unknown. There was no tossing and turning through the night. There was only excitement. Today is the Valentine's day shindig at school. Excitement brought him downstairs early.

I smiled inside as I saw the outfit he had picked for himself. I noted the red sweater for the Valentine's theme and the white shirt he had picked for underneath it. "Do we have white pants?" he asked. White pants? I think to myself.. White pants on a nine year old boy? Do they even make them? And are they crazy?. White pants wouldn't last a minute on this dirt loving nine year old. "No" I answer .

I was surprised to find him dressed. I tend to grab his clothes in the morning when I am fluttering around the house. Not only that but my boy doesn't like the basement which happens to be where that red sweater and white shirt he donned were located when I passed them last night in the laundry room.

That wasn't my only surprise today though.  I discovered that he had also brushed his teeth (without being told) , tackled his unruly hair with a comb instead of his fingers , packed his Valentine's , made his lunch and was in the process of filling out his milk order form. All that was required of me now was a kiss, a hug and a cheque before school.

Wow! I told him how proud I was of his morning activities. How it was nice to see him turning into such a responsible young man. (Does he even need me anymore? ) . 

Parents will tell you often how fast their children grow up or how fast yours will .  How in one blink of an eye you will go from diapers to dates.  From tonka trucks to drivers licences.  And from little to big....

I think I just blinked.

My little man is growing up.

My First Ever Giveaway!! Follow me to win!

Thats Right!! Lady Luck's Abode is holding its first ever giveaway!
I am giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card !! Entry is Easy Peasy!!

Mandatory Entry Requirents:
1. Become a follower of my blog! ( Yes.. please.. I need you!! lol)
2. Leave a comment below telling me where you are from (Province or State is fine!)
(Please leave them both in one comment total- Thankx)
Please make sure you leave a valid email address with your comment (preferrably in code) so that I can contact you if you win.  You may also have your blogger profile set to public.

***Update: YOU GUYS ROCK!! Entries are climbing everyday and I am excited to see a winner.  A reminder though: YOU MUST FOLLOW my blog to win.  Not everyone is doing so .  I WILL be checking :)  Good Luck Everyone!

Rules:
Giveaway is open to residents of the Canada and the U.S only who are 18 years of age or older.
Gift Card will be sent by email .
Giveaway ends on February 22, 2010 at 11:59 pm
Winner will be chosen by Random.org
You must complete the entry requirements above or your entry will be disqualified.
By participating in this contest you are automatically agreeing to the rules set forth above as well as the rules listed here: Full Contest Rules

Good Luck! You have to be in it to win it!

Huge Thank you to 7M Designs

As you may recall a couple of posts back I mentioned winning a new blog design from 7M Designs.

Here it is!!! Do you love it as much as I do??

Kim from 7M Designs emailed me last night and told me to go ahead and check out the new design she had been working on for me. I went to my new and improved site and fell in love. The new design is everything I could have hoped for and more. Kim went above and beyond my expectations. No more tired blog for this woman!! She even created me a button!! Yes! My very own button!



That button was the icing on my cake!
I was so excited I could barely sleep last night!

Kim was a dream to work with. I was a complete Newbie in blog design and she was very patient with me. She had me complete an easy questionaire on her site to get started and she created a blog that was perfect for me. She was fast too!


A big THANK YOU goes out to Beautiful Blog Designs (who hosted the original contest) with 7M Designs .

AND..

A SUPER HUGE GIANT THANK YOU to Kim at 7M Designs who made my blog more beautiful than I could have possibly imagined.  I recommend her services to anyone!

Missing Prizes - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly - Part 3 - The Ugly!

Today is Part 3 of  my missing prizes posts.  If you missed them you can find the other two posts here:

http://ladylucksabode.blogspot.com/2010/02/missing-prizes-good-bad-ugly-part-1.html

http://ladylucksabode.blogspot.com/2010/02/missing-prizes-good-bad-ugly-part-2-bad.html


Todays post is actually the Ugly Experience that my friend and fellow contester is currently going through with her missing win from Target and Glam.com in their Five days of Target giveaway.

http://blogs.glam.com/glamnest/2009/12/03/five-days-of-target-giveaways-retro-entertainment-system/

This win was from Dec 4th as you can see and so far has not shown up yet. 

When contacted Lauren from Glam promised to look into it further and get back to her.

That was the last she heard from Lauren.  There have been emails sent and no reply.  There have been phonecalls unanswered.  And messages unable to be left because Lauren's mailbox is conveniently full at all times. 

This kind of thing causes panic.  When you can't get a hold of someone it worries you.  You start to wonder if you will ever get your prize.   Your win that was wonderful and made you so happy turns into a headache that you can't get rid of.  It is prolonged by the lack of contact with the contest holder.  So now she waits.  And waits.. and waits.

So "THE UGLY" award goes to Lauren of Glam.  Actually, lets give it to any and every contest holder who does not only not meet their end of the bargain but clearly ignores any and all attempts to contact them regarding the issue.  Its not the missing win thats the most frustrating. Its the lack of contact.  Just tell us it was shipped late.  Keep us informed of what is happening.  Please.

Fokxxy

Spring Time Cometh

It always makes me hopeful that spring time will come sooner rather than later when I start seeing giveaways for Easter Items.

Enter to win a handwoven Easter Basket filled with wonderful items from the Old Farmhouse Group here:  http://oldfarmhousegathering.blogspot.com/2010/02/old-farmhouse-give-away.html

Open to U.S and Canada!!

You have to be In it to Win it!!  Head on over!

Canadians Only - Burts Bees

YAY CANADIANS!!!

I absolutely LOVE finding contests that are Canadian only!!

I found a great one today.

$75 worth of Burts Bees Products.

Enter at One Income Dollar here: http://www.oneincomedollar.com/2010/02/review-and-giveaway-canada-only-burts.html

Missing Prizes - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly - Part 2 - The Bad

This post is a bit of a downer. So if you didn't catch yesterdays post  Part 1 - The GOOD!!!  <-- Click it!  I promise it is a lot more uplifting than this one. :) Pinky swear even.

On to todays post..

Missing Prizes - Part 2 -  The Bad

As you recall I mentioned yesterday some vastly different experiences I had while contacting 3 bloggers regarding the prizes I was missing from last years wins.

I am having trouble putting a name in this post of the blogger falling under "The Bad" category.  Not because I don't know her name.  More because putting it here for the world to see gives me pause for a few reasons. 

First, bloggers are incredibly cliquey in their ways. I am not dogging anyone for this.  However, listing the blogger's name here and feeling the backlash from her bloggy friends doesn't sound like a pleasant wednesday afternoon to me.  Whats worse is.. even though this blogger is in the wrong...  I fear some sort of retaliation for this post.. like a possible ban from blog giveaways if my opinion frazzles some nerves.  Chickenshit am I ? Maybe.  Ok.. Yes.  Definately .

Second, I have no problem writing the names of the wonderful people I come across on the blogosphere.  I love it.  I should do it more often. (note to self) .  I do want to limit my slander of others.  Not that I will always.  I'm kind of a live in the moment kinda gal- and in the moment my emotions run a little high sometimes.

Anyways.  For the purpose of this post , lets just call this blogger Biotch. ..  I mean..  JAM . (see.. living in my emotions again)   

There is actually a bit of a back story to this.  My friend and I both won the same day from this blog.  Both winning DVD's.  Initially my friend had contacted JAM in late December asking about her missing prize only to be told that it hadn't been shipped yet.  Keep in mind this was a month to the day after the prize had been won originally.  She finally received hers in mid January. 

So yesterday.  February 2nd.  I contact JAM to let her know my prize had not arrived. My letter was simple and friendly .  I copied for your pleasure:

Just wanted to touch base with you. I still have not received this DVD. I am wondering when it was sent. Hope all is well with you. Wishing you much success in 2010 !

Nice enough right?  The reply wasn't as wonderful.  I was told that JAM paid shipping out of her own pocket to ship to Canada and that she was sorry I hadn't received it. (hey.. at least she gave an apology).. and said that if I don't see it to contact her and she would contact the sponsor who probably WILL NOT be shipping out a replacement because (apparently) there has been a problem in the blogosphere with giveaway winners not receiving prizes and she doesn't know if they will go for it.

This reply initially made me feel guilty.  I took a step back and told myself I had nothing to be guilty for.

The contest did not state U.S only when I entered, so if being from Canada was a problem, why wasn't I told?  (Please people.. if you run a giveaway.. put the restrictions up.  U.S only, Canada, ALL, International, whatever it may be.. put it there! ) . It is not the entrants fault if you don't specify the rules.

Most of the time sponsors are shipping the prizes , so it was news to me that this blogger had to pay shipping out of pocket.  Had I known I was being an inconvenience I would have told her not to worry about it and to please award it to someone else as I have previously for people.

And a problem in the blogosphere with people not receiving prizes?  How does this translate into my bad luck? From the impression I get in her reply, JAM doesn't even want to ask the sponsor about re-shipping my item out to me.  But why not?  What harm does it do her to ask a simple question.  Doesn't the blogger or at least the sponsor have a responsibility to get me my prize?  If I enter and win a contest from Pepsi and don't receive my prize.. Pepsi doesn't say.. Sorry.. we had shipping problems.. You won't EVER get it. Better Luck next time though. 

Boo to JAM. Double Boo even..
So, thats todays episode of Missing Prizes.. the Bad. Told ya it would be a downer.  Stay tuned for an equally depressing post tomorrow when we tackle "The Ugly"

Fokxxy

Missing Prizes - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly - Part 1 - THE GOOD !!!

I have been thinking of writing this post for a little while now. As someone who enters a lot of contests and wins her fair share (Thank you bloggers, contest sponsors, contest gods, and lady luck :) I consider myself pretty lucky. It is inevitable though that sometimes there will be problems that arise.

I was looking back through my wins from 2009 and noticed a few items I had won but had not received. See, I am a fairly patient prize winner. I understand bloggers have families, sponsors have workloads and delivery services have other people to deliver to other than myself . I know that some wins come from far away. Some wins come during busy postal times like Christmas. I think I allow a little more time than the average contester for these things.  I wait.  And sometimes I wait a long time.

So, hunting through my wins I noticed a total of 3 that I had not yet recieved. I contacted all three bloggers at the same time and the responses I received from the bloggers prompted this post. This will be a 3 part series.


 Part 1 - THE GOOD !!!


I have to give a giant wonderful shout out of KUDOS to Angie of Shopannies who gets my first ever Lady Luck's - THE GOOD !! Award (Angie, forgive me, I know not how to make a button but as soon as I figure it out - You are getting one!).

 I won the Shrinky Dinks contest at Shopannies in November and to be honest, when I contacted Angie I wasn't even sure if she could do anything.  One - because it had been so long and Two- because I recently had a horrible experience with one of the other no shows (which you will hear all about tomorrow in Part 2 - The BAD).  So my intention in contacting her was soley informational.  I just wanted to let her know that I hadn't received my prize as expected and I left the email at that.

Angie replied to me right away saying that she would look into it . She reiterated her faith in the sponsor of the giveaway  as she has worked with them multiple times and has had nothing but wonderful experiences in the past.

I received another email from Angie the next day. As it turns out my information had somehow never been passed on to the sponsor. It happens. I am totally aware of that. I understand that people make mistakes  and I make plenty myself. The key thing here is Angies honesty and integrity in this matter. She didn't blame my lack of prize on the sponsor, or a delivery service, or some strange act of god, She owned up to it. She took responsibility and she took action to resolve the problem. Before she even replied to me Angie had already taken steps to contact the sponsor to resolve the mix up. Kudos again to Angie! Triple Kudos if you will.

I thanked Angie and sat back reflecting on how she handled herself and how I wish all bloggers I had contacted recently had handled themselves in just such a way.  I was quite happy with how everything was handled and quite happy to know I would be receiving my prize after all.

To my surprise I received an email from Angie just a few minutes ago  relaying a message from the sponsor Shrinky Dinks. They would like to know if I would like to choose another prize more fitting to me since the original prize was a halloween themed item I had won in the early part of November. Well, how about that- Shrinky Dinks deserves a button too. Or at least a shout out on being a great sponsor who not only worked with the blogger to fix the problem but to take it one step further to satisfy their obligation.
Angie and Shrinky Dinks have gone above and beyond in this situation. Props , Kudos and Buttons well deserved!!  I have a lot of respect for them!

Thank you Angie (Shopannies) and Thank you Shrinky Dinks. May 2010 be a very successful year for you both!

Fokxxy

P.S - If any of you lovelies would like to make this button thing-a-ma-jig for me (as previously mentioned above), I would love you dearly. I cannot pay you. But I promise you love (from afar lol)


Come Back Tomorrow for   Part 2 - THE BAD.....