LAST OF THE BOOKS

Well, good morning, happy Monday! Hope you had an AWESOME weekend. I had a fun Girl’s Day Out with Diva (for those of you who haven’t followed along in the "way long ago" of the blog, that’s what I call my almost 12-year-old daughter!). We needed some Mommy/Daughter one-on-one time.

I’ve finally picked the rest of the winners except for SPIN & ARRANGED (I figured I’d give you guys another day or so in case people weren’t around on Friday or the weekend). And to make things even easier, I’ll list the last few winners here:

Two Kisses for Maddy: Michelle Mierczewski

I Think I Love You: Donna W

A Place of Yes: Dawn from CA

Perfection: Buttah (she’s a two-time winner-how lucky is that?!)

And the winners of the books below have still not contacted me yet, and if I don’t get an email from you by Wednesday night, I am wiping away your names from the blog entries and picking new names. Sorry guys, but the names have been up there for quite a while, and I’m listing them here now too!

You’ll Lose The Baby Weight
Annie Begins
The One That I Want
If You Were Here
Falling Apart in One Piece … this one was recently chosen so I'll give this winner a bit more time.

Have winners all received your books? If you recently won them, you may not have gotten them yet, but if you don’t get your books by like mid April, please do let me know and I’ll contact the author/publicist about it.

After we get all this squared away, then I can focus on the big drawing! Sorry it’s taking so long!

For later this month I’ve got Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner, and another giveaway from Laura Dave! She’s going to be offering her new one again, The First Husband (in hardback!). I’ll be sharing a great read from Kaira Rouda called Here, Home, Hope, and a fun one called The Baby Planner by Josie Brown that I just got the other day that looks fab! So not to worry, lots more books heading your way!

If you’re a mom to a young kid or need a really fun book gift idea, you might want to check out my review on Real Moms Guide about “Get To Know Your Kid”, and I also just wrote about demystifying The Birthday Octave, which is something I think only my crazy family celebrates!

I’ll share a quick Starbucks story from Friday:

There’s this really cute guy who’s always in there, I mean just a beautiful man and I was sitting near him (of course, I planned that!). Another woman is there a lot of the time, who I’ve come to know a little bit. So the cute guy’s there and I try to peek at him because he’s like a piece of art, just gorgeous and I like to look at beautiful things. He’s reading some book. Who goes to Starbucks to just read a book (well, he had coffee too). I should pay more attention to what he’s reading. I do know his name is Jack – thank you baristas for writing names on the cups!

Anyway, so when he leaves, I say to Beth (because I’ve met her before, plus they wrote her name on her cup too so it helps me remember also!)… I say to her, “Gosh he is just soooo cute!”

She says, “Yeah, I think he’s married.”

And I laugh and show her my rings and say, “So am I! I just like to look at him because he is so beautiful!” I wonder if she thought I was strange because I said he was cute. I think she is strange for not thinking he was cute! Or for not looking at him. Yep, she is definitely strange for completely thinking a guy can’t be cute because he is married.

So is that weird? Of course, I told Mr. MaNiC all about it. And he says he looks at women all the time but that doesn’t mean he wants to have sex with them (although those were not his exact words, he said something a little more crude).

Anyway, I thought I would share that with you because you guys have been sharing so much with me but I don’t even know if that’s something you would want to know.

Have a great Monday, and if you feel like it, you can tell me something crazy you did over the weekend because the only crazy thing I did was THINK about what I would do to that guy in Starbucks if I WASN’T MARRIED!

And yes, I am going back to Starbucks first thing Monday morning.

PeaCe uP!

MaNiC MoMMy

GOOD MORNING!

I seriously don't know what I'm gonna do if I don't say hi to you all each morning now!

Hi! Good morning! No book today... : (

Here's where we're at. Yesterday I had a migraine, and I think I'm blaming it on the fact that the day before, I took myself out on a date, and only had a frap and a salted caramel all day to eat. You can read about it over at my other blog. Oh yeah, did I ever tell you I blog daily somewhere else? Hahah. In my spare time. Anyway, I'm at SheKnows.com Real Moms Guide every single day. Twice on Mondays. I would LOVE it (and YOU, even MORE) if you could sneak over there sometimes and leave a little comment love. More important, my editors would love it cuz then they'd see people reading it.

So, back to the migraine. It prevented me from MOVING all day yesterday. In bed the whole day. I'm sure it was the combo caffeine (I before E except after C doesn't quite work with the word caffeine now does it?) and chocolate, the long walk, and then funky weather here in Scottsdale today (it actually RAINED ... for like 3-1/2 minutes, but with thunder AND lightning!).

I did have random.org choose three more book winners so go check out Falling Apart in One Piece, Stay and Attachments to see if you're the lucky winners. I will pick the rest of the winners this week, and then I do believe you have all decided to have TWO WINNERS for the books. I wish I could offer two full sets, but I don't have that to offer.

All of the authors have been soooo generous already with giving their books away, and so many of them offered more than just one book in the first place, so we'll just take what we can get! When we have two winners picked via Random.org, I will work with those two winners - maybe either by having them submit a list of their top 10 books to see if any of them are similiar, or let the first winner pick 5, then the second pick five, etc.

The way the drawing will go is as follows: Each day, I have taken all the comments and listed your names into an excel document. So I have 35 columns of names (one column per book). I will choose through random.org one name from each column, so if your name is in each column every day, your name could be chosen every single day. More than likely, I will share those 35 names with you all on the blog.

Does all this sound clear to you because I'm trying to understand it in my head! : )

Either way, I will be doing the grand prize drawing via a youtube video.

Some winners have not contacted me about their books, so please go back and check to see if your name is listed on the following:

Dawn Meehan: You'll Lose The Baby Weight
Michelle Toth: Annie Begins
Allison Winn Scotch: The One That I Want

No one has come forward for the very first books, Catherine McKenzie's Spin and Arranged, and that was so long ago, so I will probably do a post on Thursday offering it up again. Also, if I don't hear from the winners of the other three books by the end of this week, I will be making a decision on these as well, but for sure Spin and Arranged will be available again Thursday, and they are FABULOUS books. Check out what they are about HERE, but DO NOT COMMENT AGAIN. You'll have another chance tomorrow!

Okay, so that should catch you up to date on some things. I hope you all have a terrific Thursday and I have truly, truly LOVED learning about all of you and as I go through all your comments, there are weird things that go through my head that I want to ask ALL of you, seriously! I should just do a blog post where I ask YOU all a bunch of questions, like how you come up with your names on here, why you chose some of your crushes, what you mean when you say some of the things you say. I have enjoyed this waaay more than you can even imagine and I wish I could give every single one of you guys books!

PeaCe uP!

xoxoxo MaNiC MoMMy

Oh, and PS... I have more in store for you all! Since I dumped BlogHer, I can do other stuff on my blog I couldn't before so I might be able to do more fun giveaways, but I'm not gonna pimp it out to a bunch of advertisers or anything crazy. I would most likely wanna know what you guys would want to come here for. I also think I will be able to do a mini-April book giveaway, with about 5-7 books. It's not 40, but it's something!

Back to bye-bye! Over and out! xoxo

FALLING APART IN ONE PIECE by Stacy Morrison

Winner Announced:

Jen, who was one of the last ones to post, is the winner of Falling Apart in One Piece.

Jen said she needed "Book, prayers, sleep and hope." Jen, I'm giving you (along with the help and generosity of Stacy Morrison!) the book, and also sending prayers, and thoughts for sleep and hope! I want to thank everyone very much for your kindness especially about how we handled the giveaway for this book. (And all who commented are entered on this day so not to worry!) It's a fabulous book and I do hope you'll all take the time to read it because Stacy taught me more than I could have ever imagined about the human spirit through her story. Jen, please email me at stephanieelliot@gmail.com. Send me your full name and address and we'll get the book out to you.

Book: Falling Apart in One Piece

Author: Stacy Morrison

Website: http://www.fallingapartinonepiece.com/

Winner Announced Here

I can’t even begin to tell you how much Stacy’s book impacted me. Even now, long after I’ve read it, I think of it so often. Hers is a book that will stay with you for a long time. Her spirit and ability to see the good in all is truly amazing. I will tell you it begins as a story of divorce but it’s so not the main focus. Anyone can read it, so don’t let the fact that it’s based on her divorce stop you from checking it out. You will close this book and sit there and think. It’s that kind of book.

Stacy is as generous and kind off the book page too. The former editor-in-chief of Redbook, she has reached out to her readers on Facebook and the internet, and she also now has a website that helps women going through what she has been through at http://www.fallingapartinonepiece.com/.

Through her site, she wants to create a safe, compassionate, and hopefully occasionally funny environment, to help people find their inner reslience. Check out her BLOG here. Falling Apart was also just named one of the top six books on Divorce on Huffington Post, so if you are going through this struggle, it is definitely a book that will bring healing to you during this time in your life. If you've been through divorce, it is also a must read.

Here’s what I wrote about Falling Apart in One Piece after I read it.

Even if you are in a happy marriage, this is a must read for all women. Stacy Morrison tells the story of her personal journey through her unexpected divorce; how one day her husband of 10 years walks in and decides for the both of them that it's over. He decides he's done with the house, the marriage, and their baby. Stacy is left to pick up the pieces and figure it all out on her own, and she does this with a kind of grace I don't know many women would have. I certainly wouldn't. She has a sense of calm in her writing and never places blame on her ex, which again, I don't know if I could be that kind of woman.

Through her ordeal, a broken home (literally and figuratively), floods, fire, tears and self-doubt obstruct Stacy from finding peace; and she is also in charge of doing most of the difficult and thankless parenting duties on her own. Stacy manages to keep it together, and she and her ex maintain a beautiful parenting relationship for the good of their son. She learns more about herself, and in the end, prevails, making Falling Apart in One Piece a beautiful love story to whom it matters most, her son, Zack.

IMPORTANT!
I've thought about this particular book and realize that while it's a beautiful book and I want to share it with everybody, some of you may need to read Stacy's words more than others. It can be a life-changing book for some of you. So here's what I would like to do:

If you are in a happy stable relationship and think someone else might better benefit from winning Falling Apart in One Piece, you can write PASS in your comment and I'll still enter your name today for the final drawing at the end of the month.

If you are struggling in your marriage or have divorced and feel you need Stacy's words now more than ever, simply write NEED, and you'll be entered to win the book today.

Either way, all of you who comment will be entered for the grand prize of all the books at the end of the month. Thank you for understanding! And if you'd like to add more in the comment, feel free to share something GOOD that has recently happened to you. For me, this Book-A-Day Giveaway has been amazing. I love reading about each and every one of you and discovering something new about you guys! It's becoming a fun little community and I really don't want it to end!

*****
Please leave a comment, and all those who do will qualify to win Falling Apart in One Piece! I’ll draw the winner in a couple of days and I will post the winner’s name at the TOP of this post, in the highlighted area.


Come back and read about each book every day in March. Choose the books you'd like to win. Enter for any or ALL the books. Each entry will count as an entry toward the grand prize of winning ALL 31+ books at the end of the month. You can win the book of the day and still qualify to win ALL the books at the end of the month!


PLEASE be specific with your name in the comment section, and IF YOUR NAME is listed as the winner, you must email me at stephanieelliot@gmail.com in order to claim your prize. Email me with your full name and address so I can have your book(s) sent to you.


Thanks, and GOOD LUCK! And come back tomorrow to see what book I’ll be giving away then too!


It’s MaNiC MoMMy’s March Madness Book-A-Day Giveaway! Read ALL the Rules and Details Here!


Sorry, only U.S. and Canadian residents only!