Leslie's Omnibus

Give-Aways, Freebies and Dealios

The rest of the story:

Leslie
Thank you so much!!

Gidget has been a real joy. When I first got her she was a terrified pup. She has never walked on grass or on a leash...I don't believe she had been out of the cage she was in. She had had a number of litters, and was rescued with 17 other dogs. See attached picture, which I believe was taken shortly after her rescue (after they shaved her).

In March it will be four years that we've been together. Until last month, her progress was really REALLY slow. She always slept at the foot of the bed. Sometimes she spent all day in her crate, which is one of those wheelies which is 12X16. Last month something happened - and I'm not sure what it was. She started coming up to me on the bed, wanting to be petted before we went to sleep. We went to Merle & Tom's for XMas, and she followed Merle around! This month, she hasn't spent any time in her crate other than when I've put her there when I go out! Suddenly it is just too small for her!

Gidget does not have a mean bone in her body. She is an incredibly sweet (albeit stubborn!) dog who has brought me real joy. I'm excited about getting her a new "big girl" crate. Many thanks as I could not afford this on my own right now.

Hugs
Sandy


Congratulations, my friends!

We have a winner!



I was touched by all your entries, especially those by Liz and Grau that required a lot of work and a great sense of humor... but the story of Gidget, who has come so far from that terrified little doggie rescued from a puppy mill touched my heart. Gidget's mom Sandy should check her email, as info in how to use the gift certificate will be there later this morning.

Thanks a million to everyone who played! (And thank you to the folks at CSN Stores who made this possible!)

UPDATE: Only TWO DAYS to go! Entries are closed. Check back tomorrow for the winner! (And a big "Thank-You!" to all who entered.)

Give-Away:


A rep from CSN Stores offered me either a $75 gift certificate to use for myself, as long as I promised to write up a review of whatever product I chose OR a $75 gift certificate for one of my readers to use for such things as modern dining room furniture at their contemporary furniture site allmodern.com or great deals on Rachel Ray cookware at cookware.com or at one of their gazillion other etail establishments.

Being that I am a generous sort, I'm going to offer that to gift certificate to one of my lucky readers. (They have a boot store, too, folks. You know I love my readers when I pass up getting a discount on really freaking awesome boots for you!)

Here's what you have to do to win: 1) Go noodle around those different sites, pick what you'd spend those free $75 smackeroos on; and, 2) drop me a comment telling me which shop and which item you'd choose, including the link to the product. Whoever has the most creative or impassioned response wins.

You have until Friday, January 14th to tell me all about it. Good luck!

(And, lest my more macho manly type readers think it's all about the girlie stuff, they have rifle and pistol cases available online, too!)
_____

Freebie:

Ambulance Driver is offering up free copies of his book En Route to Kindle users. Apparently there's a glitch with the publishing house, so keep checking back with me or with him for the deets on when and for how long the free download will be available. I've read the book and can highly recommend it!

Update: AD says the download doohicky is fixed. Go here for details if you've got a Nook, iPad or Kindle. You've got until January 17th to take advantage of this generosity!
_____

Dealio 1:

Rob Kroese (a/k/a "Diesel") says,
The price of Mercury Falls has been drastically reduced!

It ain't gonna get any cheaper, and the price could go back up at any time. So get Mercury Falls now on Kindle for $3.99 or in paperback for $7.48!

Know someone who got a Kindle for Christmas? Give -- or LEND -- them Mercury Falls!

A few weeks ago, I let you know that Amazon now allows you to give Kindle books as gifts. Now they've announced another cool feature: you can LOAN books on Kindle! For details on how to do this, go here.
First of all, I adored "Mercury Falls," and can't wait for the sequel. Second of all -- Yippee! Amazon's finally letting us lend our books on Kindle!
_____

Dealio 2:

It's no secret that I love me some Goggles4U. They're offering some great deals for a very limited time:
  • $8.99 for a $4.99 frame with coated prescription lenses + $4.99 shipping and handling complete (use coupon "Glasses899"); or,
  • $50 off designer glasses (use coupon "Designer"); or,
  • 30% off your entire order value (use coupon "Deal30).
In this day and age savings like this on eyeglasses is too good to pass up!
Leslie

13 comments:

Rave said...

You know Leslie, I would have to go with the Krups combo espresso and coffee maker!

I am a coffee fanatic! But Grau? Not so much...I need to espresso him up to keep up with me. And I'm older than he is! Go figure! Who would have thought the cougar was more energetic than the cub!

http://www.csnstores.com/Krups-XP1500-KRU1022.html?cv=

Nancy said...

OOO, I need a good case for Bertha, my new laptop. I need BLING for Bertha, as us big girls need to shine, too.

(http://www.csnstores.com/Designer-Sleeves-ES-AUTB-DGN1060.html?cv=)

okay, this doesn't have sparkly stuff, but it's blue, pretty and has a tree on it..and it comes in a plus size for Bertha...

Sandy said...

Gidget, my little doggie, has been going through all sorts of changes recently. After almost 4 years of recovery from a horrible puppy mill, she's blossoming. She's become more social, and has gone from LOVING her suitcase/carrier/crate (that rolls) to avoiding it like the plague.

This would be a new and MUCH LARGER crate for her. She could be where the action is all the time!

http://www.csnstores.com/Merry-Products-MPXC001-MRP1026.html

Make a doggie happy!
Thx- Sandy

Anonymous said...

Leslie, What's up? I looked at several items on Cookware.com, you know I love to cook. It was difficult to choose with such an incredible selection to choose from. I thought about something in just about every category. I thought about using the gift certificate on something more expensive and just easing the burden of the overall cost, but thought that wasn't the right way to go. Why not just go for it all on one item? Anyway, the choice I made is here. http://www.cookware.com/Blomus-63405-RY1690.html

With the wedding coming up I wasn't sure what we would have of need and decided that this is something that no one would buy and that I really liked. Kayce and I love having people over and this is just something nice to have.

Take care and I'm sure I'll see you this week sometime for a "Cherry Garcia"!

Anonymous said...

http://www.csnstores.com/Rubbermaid%AE-Commercial-H235-RMC1145.html

It's a mop handle. Exciting stuff, no? But it is. My sister and I are trying to get together our cleaning supply list for our cleaning company, and this would be a much welcome addition.

Enjoy your day sweetie!

The Meezers or Billy said...

So, MissieAuntieLeslie, ME is MeezerMom and ME thinks that mine darling Billy SweetFeets would enjoy THIS http://www.allmodern.com/Kittypod-Kittypod-Mini-EPS1009.html

'acuase ME loves him LOTS AND LOTS and HE deserves it. Yep.

Signed
ME Billy
er
MeezerMommy

Karen said...

I have 2 cats, And wanted to get them a heated cat bed for ages. I am currently unemployed so it is not at the top of the bill list

We like K&H Manufacturing Leopard Deluxe Heated Hooded Cat Bed - 3196/95/98/97 in the large size. It would be awesome for them to have a heated spot by the window to watch the snow fall

Liz said...

Thanks for the giveaway! On observing a $1500 cake plate on their site (http://www.csnstores.com/Makkum-JOB2500-MKM1013.html), I was inspired to write the following:


I have the most adoring mate
Each Friday we’ve a dinner date
Last week, however, he complained:
“What’s cake without a fancy plate?”

His family’s classier than mine
Their taste more subtle and refined
And thus he needs just such a plate
To gaze on as he sniffs his wine!

Before you think that he is mean,
Remember he has met the queen!
I can’t ask such a one to sup
But on the very best cuisine!

And fine cuisine is at its best
When in fine porcelain duly dress’d;
Therefore, this cake plate is required
To help my dear his food digest!

At fifteen hundred dollars, it’s
Quite pricy—but it well befits
A man of such distinguished taste
Who only summers at the Ritz!

Please help me cover our dessert
And keep it free from dust and dirt;
And from my Betty Crocker cake
My husband’s senses to divert!

(In reality, I would get a new handbag, lest you think that I'm criminally insane!)

Thanks,

eemoody77 at gmail dot com

Graumagus said...

I too believe that it is imperative that Rave and I upgrade our daily caffeine enhancement system to a dual mode machine such as the Krups Coffee/Espresso machine.

http://www.csnstores.com/Krups-XP1500-KRU1022.html?cv=

I prefer my caffeine concentrated. Coffee is ok, but Espresso is like liquid happy.

Lack of proper caffeine levels in my bloodstream can lead to:

1) Forgetting to wear pants before entering public, significantly raising the state's debt obligation for group psychiatric and memory repression therapy. And eye surgery bills from repairing the claw marks could hit seventy trillion dollars alone.

2) I have been known to come dangerously close to mumbling incoherent words from languages man was not meant to speak, which can summon elder beings from dimensions the slightest exposure to can cause human organs to liquefy and spew from their various orifices.

3) Dumping a shot of espresso into a cup of wicked joe (also called a depth charge) exponentially multiplies my awesome. Being able to make Chai Latte's at home would cube Cordavan's Awesome level (which is already almost at human norm). This would cause a singularity of Awesome from which no suckosity within a 100 mile radius could escape.

4) Covering up my involvement in the upswing of gibbering insane people clawing out their eyes and crapping their spleens is what takes up all my blogging time. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it)

The choices are clear: Screaming blind, organ spewing madness or a new age of suck destroying Awesome punctuated by blog posts more than once every two months. :)

Graumagus said...

Mumble mrrgghh Chtullu rhyleh! Rhyleh! Ftghah!

SandyandGidget said...

WOOF! WOOF!
Yay and hooray!! Mommy can get me a new crate with some room! I'm not a scaredy cat anymore!
THANK YOU to Auntie Leslie!!
Me and my mom are delighted!
GIDGET

Nancy said...

Hooray for da Puppy!! I couldn't lose to a better pup.........

Graumagus said...

Yeah, the puppy was a hard one to beat :)

Hope he likes the new digs!