Really Random Tuesday #21: CSN Winner, iPhone Fun, and a Mad Housewife

Congratulations to Royalegacy, the winner of a $60 gift certificate to CSN stores! Royalegacy, I will contact you very soon by email with all the details you need to redeem your prize. You 're now able to get the Kalorik 4 Slice Toaster you picked out, or something else from CSN. Special thanks to Jamie and CSN for offering this very generous giveaway.


If you didn't win this time, don't despair! I have many other terrific giveaways posted on the right side of my blog, and I'm thinking about hosting a special giveaway after I reach my goal of 500 followers, so please stay tuned.

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Recently I got an iPhone 4. Slowly but surely, I'm learning how to use it. I've mastered the basics of calling and texting with a touch screen. The iPhone has an excellent camera, and I find myself photographing all kinds of things. The camera is ready to shoot almost instantly. My old phone camera took forever to set up for a photo, and as a result I took very few pictures. This shot I quickly took at Trader Joe's. I wandered into the wine section because a colorful display caught my eye.

Although this housewife looks sophisticated and calm (she could even have a secret identity as a book blogger), the label calls her mad. (Is she mad simmering angry, or mad off her rocker crazy? If she's mad crazy, is it because of her lot in life or because of the wine--or both?)

I have a few, select applications or "apps" on my iPhone, including Dictionary.com, which features a word of the day. Here are a couple of words that I recently discovered on this app.

hypnagogic: inducing sleep; of our pertaining to drowsiness
Does this post have a hypnagogic effect on you, dear reader?

puckish: whimsical, mischievous, impish
My Really Random Tuesday posts tend to be puckish.
I love this word and hope to use it in conversation soon (hopefully I will be understood).

In the future, I may use words from this app for Bermudaonion's Wondrous Words Wednesday. Another really fun app is Scrabble. I can play to my heart's content on my iPhone. I had this app on my iPod touch but the graphics are sharper on the iPhone. Scrabble is a wonderful way to pass the time when you're waiting for someone or for some event to start. I feel a bit geekish at times sitting and staring into my phone, moving around letter tiles, but it is so much fun, and being a word nerd isn't the worst thing in the world.

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Really Random Tuesday is a way to post odds and ends--announcements, musings, quotes, photos--any blogging and book-related things you can think of. If you're inspired by this idea, feel free to copy the button and use it on your own blog. Leave a link in the comments if you’re participating and I'll add it to this post.

For other Really Random Tuesday posts, please visit Vivienne's blog, Serendipity, and Kim's blog, Page after Page. Kim has even designed her own logo for this meme, which looks lovely on her blog.

Thanks for reading!

CSN Giveaway and the Hop

Please be seated because what I'm about to reveal may shock you. I've recently read online that the average American watches approximately 153 hours of TV each month at home. That's roughly 5 hours a day. Wow! That's unbelievable to me. As a book blogger, I prefer to read in the evenings, although I do watch TV on occasion, and movies from Netflix (although sometimes those are few and far between). When I watch TV, because it's rare, it's a bit of an event. I like the setting to be just right. I don't want to be surrounded by clutter because I want to relax and get lost in whatever I'm viewing. Our TV is housed in a lovely armoire, but the armoire is starting to show it's age, and the doors and drawers aren't working as well as they used to. I will be sad to get rid of the armoire, but at some point in the future, I'd like to modernize the area with an LCD TV stand to hold not only the TV, but also remotes, electronic equipment, and maybe even a few magazines or books. CSN has a large variety of attractive TV tables, available for order online. I especially like the sleek look of this one.


CSN stores also have clothing, cookware, games--and much, much more. And I have some fabulous news! How would you like to win a $60 gift certificate that can be used on any CSN site? CSN is generously offering this prize to one lucky winner who will be chosen randomly (U.S./Canada only).

• To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment.
• For an extra chance at winning, take a look at some of the goodies offered by CSN. Then return here and tell me in your comment what you'd like to spend the gift certificate on.
• For another chance at winning, become a follower of this blog, or let me know that you're already a follower, or that you subscribe in Google Reader.
• For an additional chance, post about this contest on your blog or Twitter.

Enter by 5PM PDT on Monday, March 21. The winner will be chosen randomly and announced on Tuesday, March 22. Good luck!

More exciting news!

CSN now has a sister site, Joss & Main, a discount shopping site for the home where you can get up to 70% off of top brands. New sales events are posted daily. It's completely free to join (it only takes about a minute to sign up), and gives you exclusive shopping privileges at limited sales (lasting 72 hours). I joined as soon as I heard about it because I want to be privy to their current online sales. I love to get a good deal!

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It's time for another Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Jennifer from Crazy-for-Books. Each week, Jennifer chooses a question for discussion. This week's excellent question is from Mia from Girl About Books: Who's your all-time favorite book villain?

I had to give this question some thought. I'm not sure if I have an all-time favorite villain, but Bill Sikes in Charles Dickens' classic novel Oliver Twist is a brutal, frightening, and memorable character to me. In the movie version, Bill Sikes was played by Oliver Reed, who always scared the wits out of me as a child.

This brilliant BOOK PARTY lasts from March 4 until March 7. It's a fun way for book bloggers to socialize, connect with other book lovers, and discover new book blogs. If you're a Hop participant and would like me to stop by your blog, please leave a comment. If you're entering the CSN giveaway please indicate that in your comment. Thanks!

Really Random Tuesday #14: CSN Winner and Random Posts

Congratulations to Mami2jcn, the randomly chosen, lucky winner of a $75 gift certificate from CSN stores. I will email you the details soon. Enjoy your shopping spree with CSN!

If you didn't win this time, don't despair. CSN is extremely generous and hosts many other giveaways online, and I have terrific book giveaways posted on the right side of my blog, so you might just try your luck again.



Christmas (and several family birthdays) have kept me ridiculously busy lately, and so I don't have a long post today. Instead, I'll list some of the most recent Really Random Tuesday posts (in no particular order) published by other book bloggers for your browsing pleasure.

Leslie from Under My Apple Tree:
First Day of Winter and a Wovel
Winners and Potatoes

Veens from Giving Reading A Chance!!!:
A Day Early with a Gush Fest!

Naida from the bookworm:
NYC, lots of tasty treats and Jane Austen
24 inches of snow and the top 10 books of 2010

Avis from she reads and reads:
Another Snow and Kitty Pic
Snow and Kitty Pics

Vivienne from Serendipity:
Really Random Tuesday

I'm appreciative of all the book bloggers who have done this meme over the past year. Really Random Tuesday is a way to post odds and ends--announcements, musings, quotes, photos--any blogging and book-related things you can think of. If you're inspired by this idea, feel free to copy the button and use it on your own blog. Leave a link in the comments if you’re participating and I'll add it to this post.

Thanks for reading!

Holiday Giveaway from CSN Stores

Whenever the holidays approach, I do a lot of shopping. I shop for gifts for friends and family--mostly. While I'm browsing for others, I can't help but find a few things that I'd like to have for myself or for the house. For example, I'd like to get some new counter stools to spruce up our kitchen. I'd love to find a bookcase or two to house the many books I've acquired since becoming a book blogger. Or a mini crock pot, to make small portions of food for my vegetarian daughter, or salsa roja with a hint of chipotle.


I'm no stranger to online shopping, either. My mantra this year: why face the ridiculous crowds at the mall, shopping centers, and parking lots if I don't have to? Recently I discovered CSN Stores.com, which has over 200 sites online and offers free shipping on many items! The four items pictured are from CSN, and they have thousands more.

Exciting news! How would you like to win a $75 gift certificate that can be used on any CSN site? CSN is very generously offering this prize to one lucky winner who will be chosen randomly (U.S./Canada only).

• To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment.
• For an extra chance at winning, take a look at some of the goodies offered by CSN, at AllBarStools.com, Cookware.com, HolidayDecorationsDirect.com, toysandgamesonline.com, or any of their other sites. Then return here and tell me in your comment what you'd like to spend the gift certificate on.
• For another chance at winning, become a follower of this blog, or let me know that you're already a follower, or that you subscribe in Google Reader.
• For an additional chance, post about this contest on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter.

Enter by 5PM PST on Monday, December 27. One winner will be chosen randomly and announced on Tuesday, December 28. Good luck!

Special thanks to Caitlin and Alexandra from CSN stores for offering this incredible giveaway to my readers.