An Experiment...

Winged Wonders Kit - Artella

I have a confession to make... I've been cavorting at the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival. This innovative site, Bloggy Giveaways, invited blog keepers to host and post Giveaways, providing links to their own blogs. There were 890 Giveaways posted before further linking was closed! 890!

By the time I found out about this extravaganza, I was already hosting a Giveaway here at Eye-dyllic. I toyed with the idea of extending my deadline in order to participate, but my Giveaway had more of a personal nature. Instead, I decided to take on another challenge.

A few years ago, I won $1000.00 cash at a Greek Festival where there were hundreds of entries. I had never won anything of that magnitude. I was ecstatic! Up until that moment, winning raffles or drawings wasn't a regular feature in my life.

As I approached the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival, I began to wonder what the odds would be if I seriously increased my chances of winning. Call it a Birthday binge, but I decided to conduct an experiment and I'm letting you in on the action. My mission was to enter as many Giveaways as possible before the cutoffs. Several Giveaways didn't appeal to me; however, when all was said and posted, I had entered about 800 Giveaways! Gift cards to Starbucks, Amazon.com, and Target clearly drew the biggest crowds.

Calculating the odds would be too challenging. The average amount of posts would have to be determined on 890 Giveaways before a percentage could be established. Each Giveaway had it's own parameters, some giving away more than one prize. The amount of comments on each post varied from less than 100 to over 500.

So, what do you think my chances of winning are? I'm interested in your thoughts.

POSTED RESULTS

Most drawings will not be conducted until Sunday, February 3rd. I will be posting any wins right here.

1. I won a book entitled, Echoes, from Carrie of Mommy Brain! (6 winners were chosen.)
2. I won a free Life Coaching Session with Jena Strong of bullseye, baby!
3. I won a Fix It and Forget It cookbook from Jill at Charming & Delightful!
   

RELATED HUMOR

• After announcing a winner (and it wasn't me), one blog hostess invited the losers to make concession speeches in the comments section. She thought it would be entertaining if we expressed ourselves with Haiku. Having recently conducted a Haiku contest on my blog, I jumped on this one...
  

the downcast loser
replaces chocolate binge
with thoughtful haiku

"When I get older, losing my hair..."

Winged Wonders Kit - Artella

In the post below, I made mention that my new bear buddy sings these touching lyrics to me: "When I get older, losing my hair, many years from now..." As divine providence would have it, I found the solution in Hall's Vegetable Sicilian Hair Renewer: "Prevents gray hairs and baldness." To think that the Sicilians have been hoarding this secret; a secret that uses a byproduct as simple as vegetable oil no less! Not only is the product dispensed and administered by naked cupids, but it's delivered by white doves, and curious bunnies play the attentive audience! What more could a woman ask for?

NOTE: If you haven't discovered who the Giveaway Winners are, just keep scrolling along...

Finally "50" & the Giveaway Winners

"Aged to Perfection" - Photo taken by my Mom at Maggianos in Costa Mesa, California

I am officially 50! We whooped it up last night at Maggiano's in Costa Mesa, California. I was joined by my husband and 3 children; my Mom and Dad; my youngest brother, his girlfriend, and his daughter. We gathered not just to celebrate my 50th Birthday, but to recognize my husband's 55th Birthday (January 28th), and my youngest son's 8th Birthday (February 4th) as well. We enjoyed sumptuous family style Italian food and playful conversation! I reflected many times through the evening of how blessed I am to have such a wonderful family!

So, there I was, sporting a pair of funky fifty spectacles and modeling the true sense of "grin and bear it." My furry friend in the "Aged to Perfection" T-shirt was singing, "When I get older, losing my hair, many years from now" (Beatles); such comforting words!

Speaking of blessings, my Birthday Giveaway has rewarded me with so many humorous, wise and wonderful comments that I will cherish for a lifetime! All of the contributors added something special to my Birthday, and the original poetry had me doing the happy dance! I plan to read these comments at my 100th Birthday party, so be sure to mark your calendars! Also, take a moment to read the post in it's entirety as I am certain that you will be encouraged and amused.

As for the winner of my Giveaway, the results were a stroke of genius and we have Random.org to thank. It will look suspiciously like the winner was staged because of the similarity between the name and the source of the gift card. Be assured that all was above board.

Here are the results...

Congratulations! These ladies need to email me with their addresses.

And LOVE, HUGS, AND MUSH to ALL of you who have made my 50th so incredible!

A 50th Birthday Treat for YOU!

Disney 50th Anniversary Cupcake Uploaded on July 17, 2005 by disneymike - Flickr.com

Making "50" Design Challenge Entries

A few days ago, I posted a MAKING "50" DESIGN CHALLENGE (you will find the original post 2 doors down.) The post contained a clever photo Lego blocks depicting the number "50". In that spirit, the object was to create something along the same lines and then photograph it. All of this hoopla, of course, was gearing up for my 50th Birthday which has finally arrived!

Yes, today I am halfway to 100!

I received one beautiful contribution and I came up with one of my own. So without further ado, here are our creations...

Pyramid Butterfly - KJ at eye-dyllic
(This is an original fold made from one $50.00 bill.)

Buttons on Burlap - By Judy at Fabric Art & Crafts

DON'T FORGET...

KIND REMINDERS

• THE "MAKING 50" PHOTO CHALLENGE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO JANUARY 28TH AT MIDNIGHT PST. I HAVE RECEIVED ONE GORGEOUS CONTRIBUTION AND THERE'S STILL TIME FOR THE REST OF YOU CREATIVE SOULS. (ONE POST DOWN.)

• ALSO, THE 50TH BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY ENDS ON JANUARY 29TH AT MIDNIGHT PST. THERE IS STILL TIME TO ENTER OR REFER SOMEONE. BE SURE TO READ THE ENTERTAINING COMMENTS! CLICK HERE.