Friday Fun with Instant Winning!

Since I've had a bit of a dry spell since moving into the new house, I thought a few instant wins might up the ante. So far, since being here, I've won $5 off Fruit of the Loom in the latest Quikly, $1 off movie tickets from Fandango, and Snickers garb for an Xbox avatar, valued at $1.99. Though I do appreciate these wins, too, this is far less than what has been usual for me.

Hence, today's sweeps are in hopes of bringing in a little prize rain, to end this dry spell! But, what the heck. Maybe the wins are like the mail, and just haven't caught up to me yet...

In any event, a good instant win is better than a scratch-off ticket! You don't have to go to the store to buy it, and, well, you don't even have to buy it at all. You just get to play! What fun for a Friday.


Bud Light Super Bowl Coin Toss Sweepstakes

* Grand prize is a three night trip for two, February 5th-8th, 2016, to San Francisco, CA. Includes air fare, accommodations, and Super Bowl tickets. Total ARV up to $11,900.

Instant win prizes:

* 10 - One Bud Light Super Bowl 50 cooler. ARV $50, each.
* 10 - One Bud Light Super Bowl 50 pitcher. ARV $6, each.
* 10 - One Bud Light Super Bowl 50 Bluetooth Speaker. ARV $47, each.
* 100 - One Bud Light Super Bowl 50 25 oz. coolie. ARV $1, each.
* 100 - One Bud Light Super Bowl 50 12 oz. coolie. ARV $1, each.
* 10 - One Bud Light Super Bowl 50 16 oz. plastic cup. ARV $1, each.
* 8 - One Bud Light Super Bowl 50 jacket. ARV $85, each.
* 1,020 - One Bud Light Super Bowl 50 tattoo. ARV $10, each.
* 2,300 - One Bud Light Super Bowl 50 beanie. ARV $12, each.
* 2,000 - One Bud Light Super Bowl 50 mini-football. ARV $1.90, each.
* 1,000 - One Bud Light NFL t-shirt. ARV $10.75, each.
* 2,000 - One Bud Light Super Bowl 50 t-shirt. ARV $4, each.
* 500 - One Bud Light Super Bowl 50 surge sport. ARV $4.75, each.

One play per person per day. Open to U.S. residents, 21 or older. Ends February 7, 2016.


Chunky Super Bowl 50 Instant Win Game

You can also win these prizes by checking for a winning message on the inside of the lids of specially marked cans of Campbell's Chunky Soup. To enter without purchase, click the "No purchase entry" tab at the top of the entry form. The grand prize portion of this sweeps is over, so you will only be playing for the instant win prizes, which are as follows:

* 1,000 - One $50 NFLshop.com gift code. ARV $50, each
* 50,000 - One 19 oz. can of Campbell's Chunky Soup. ARV $2.99, each.

According to the rules, you will be notified by U.S. mail, or by email if you win this, so there is no "instant gratification validation screen" (as I'd call it). I also could not find how the winners are determined for this portion of the game. Generally, an instant win game will have random, computer-generated "win times." A regular sweeps will usually have a random drawing, after the sweeps is over. Hence, I'm not sure that I'd agree that this is an actual instant win game, unless you get the soup. However, I'd imagine they'd know, since they did name it that.

I found no entry limit stated. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C., 18 or older. Ends February 8, 2016.


Dew General Instant Win Game

* 5 - One $500 Dollar General gift card. ARV $500, each.
* 10 - One $100 Dollar General gift card. ARV $100, each.
* 50 - One $20 Dollar General gift card. ARV $20, each.
* 1,050 - One $10 Dollar General gift card. ARV $10, each.

One play per person per day. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C., 18 or older (19 in AL and NE). Though the rules state that this game ends March 1, 2016, the entry verification page says it ends December 31 of this year.


Good Luck!

Fatal Exchange by Cindy M. Hogan - Book Review

Today was a good day for reading a good book, so I thought I would share the latest review with you here. Some of you may recall my review from a year ago, for a book called "Hotwire" from this same author. You can find it HERE. Today's book is the next in this series by Cindy M. Hogan.


Fatal Exchange by Cindy M. Hogan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was another fast paced, action packed book in the Christy Spy Series. I had read Hotwire, so was anxious to read this one, as well. It certainly did not disappoint!

The main character in this book is a young woman by the name of Christy Hadden. She isn't just any young woman, though, she is a talented spy. She's been through a lot to get where she is today, and it has made her strong and tough. Still, she shows her youth with an impulsive nature, that tends to get her in a good bit of hot water every now and then.

I thought Christy's character had become a bit more sophisticated in this book. She seemed to be a more adult version, having grown, with more experiences behind her. At the same time, her personality was still intact, and she is just as strong-headed and determined as before.

The complexities in this book were amazing. Set in Paris, with a pickpocket ring central to the plot, there are oodles of familiar scenes, even if you've never been there before. The descriptive passages flow together so seamlessly, it felt to me like I was sitting in Paris, watching the whole scene unfold.

The details of the spy work are enough to keep it interesting, yet not enough to get boring. The action and suspense are what keep the story moving along. And it does move along. Christy and her team have a lot of advanced training, and that makes it all look so easy. Yet, they all encounter dangerous situations, that only their loyalty to one another can save them from.

Of course, there are still those romantic tensions, with the forbidden romance between Christy and her handler, Jeremy. They can't, they mustn't, they won't... or will they?

This was a good book, and fun to read!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my impartial review.



View all my reviews

Short and Sweet!

Somehow, my schedule has gotten all out of kilter this week. Along with this, an old back injury flaring up again has now forced me to get some extra rest. The side benefit of this is that the extra rest has been releasing the two tons of stress I've been carrying around (which likely caused the flareup to begin with), with all that I have and have had going on, so this is a plus!

Hence, today's post will be short and sweet!


Rafflecopter entry. Ends December 31...
USHPA Sweet 2015 Sweepstakes


Look for the entry form in the bottom right hand corner. Ends December 31...
Win a $250 Sweet & Spark Shopping Spree!


Good Luck!

T'is the Season for Big Wins!

It seems that nearly everyone looks for ways to save money during the holiday season, or to bring in some extra cash. That's why today's sweepstakes come at the perfect time! These sponsors have all generously allotted a multitude of prizes, including plenty of large cash prizes. These range from $100 on up to $100,000! Plus, there are free movies, and dinners, discount codes, and gift cards of various types.

A win from today's sweeps will certainly boost those holiday spirits!


American Express Gift Card Sweepstakes

* 5 Monthly prizes awarded each month, each a $1,000 American Express gift card. ARV $1,000, each.

* 5 Weekly prizes awarded each week, each a $100 American Express gift card. ARV $100, each.

Entries awarded for social sharing, up to 50 entries per person/email address per day. Open to legal residents of the United States, D.C., Puerto Rico, and U.S. territories and possessions, 18 or older. Ends June 30, 2016.


HGTV's Spreading Holiday Cheer Sweepstakes

* Grand Prize is $10,000. ARV $10,000.

One entry per person/email address/mobile number. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C., at least 18 and the age of majority. Ends December 24, 2015.


Fandango Holiday Instant Win

You may enter this sweeps by purchasing movie tickets through the Fandango website, or by obtaining free codes through this link. Though you will receive multiple codes in the email (enough to get the 10 entries you are allowed), you may only use one per day. On my first play, I received one of the two, limited "special offers" available, of a dollar off my next movie ticket purchase, in the instant win. The other is two dollars off.

* Grand prize is $100,000 and a lifetime supply of movie tickets. Total ARV $121,600.

Instant win prizes are as follows:

* 15,000 - 1 Movie Ticket, each. ARV $15, each.
* 4,000 - 2 Movie Tickets, each. Total ARV $30, each.
* 10 - $100 in Movie Tickets, each. ARV $100, each.
* 5 - $500 in Movie Tickets, each. ARV $500, each.
* 5 - each a Year of Movie Tickets. ARV $720, each.
* 604 - $100 each. ARV $100, each.
* 300 - $500, each. ARV $500, each.
* 100 - $1,000, each. ARV $1,000, each.
* 5 - $5,000, each. ARV $5,000, each.
* 300 - Fandango Dinner + Movie Gift Card, each. ARV $50, each.
* 2,500 - Fandango Holiday Gift Card, each. ARV $25, each.
* 500 - Fandango Holiday Gift Card, each. ARV $50, each.
* 100 - Fandango Holiday Gift Card, each. ARV $100, each.

Maximum of 10 entries per entrant. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C., 18 or older. Ends December 31, 2015.


Good Luck!