Happy New Year's Eve Eve - giveaways, wins, coupons and Share the Joy

It's hard to believe that in less than 48 hours it'll be 2011. It seems like this year has really flown by!

I got an email yesterday that I won a BlogHer giveaway which was VERY exciting! I'm putting this win towards my new dryer, I'm halfway there. I'm hoping I'll have enough saved up by Spring Break, so my son and I can work on the laundry room when he's home for that week.

I also found out yesterday that Land's End picked me as one of the participants in their Share the Joy program! I have a stack of coupons that are expiring tomorrow and I was wondering where I was going to put all this extra food (some of it is pantry items but a lot of it is fresh/frozen items and I just don't have anywhere to put it), but instead I'll take it all and donate it either to the food pantry, or the homeless shelter if the food pantry can't store the fresh/frozen items. I'm excited to see how far I can stretch this $50 gift card!

Speaking of coupons, I watched Extreme Couponing last night and I have to say I'm appalled. It's like Hoarders, only with coupons. I think my little stockpile is excessive but these people make me feel much better! Especially that Nathan guy. I commend him for buying 1100 boxes of Total cereal to donate to the food pantry, but why did he have to open the cases and stack them in his driveway to take a photo of it? That's just feeding his ego. He could have just as easily taken a photo of it loaded on his trailer. People like the ones portrayed in this TV show are the reason I can only use 4 like coupons when I go shopping now - they clear the shelves, and we all suffer.

With the year winding down, there are still a lot of good giveaways ending this week. Here's a few I've entered.

As part of their Checking Our List Holiday Gift Guide, A Mom's Balancing Act and Thanks, Mail Carrier are each giving away a Bissell Steam & Sweep Floor Cleaner. I love that these 2 blogs teamed up on their holiday giveaways - it's like doubling your chances to win! This would be great for cleaning and sanitizing my kitchen and bathroom floors, and I love that it cleans and sweeps at the same time - that saves me time! Plus cleaning with steam rather than chemicals is preferable for me - I don't like the chemical smell and residue, chemical cleaners can get expensive and some aggrevate my asthma. Not to mention those chemicals going down my drain will screw up my septic system. *yikes*

Another Checking Our List Holiday Gift Guide giveaway ending today from A Mom's Balancing Act and Thanks, Mail Carrier is a $50 Amazon gift card from GiftZip.com (one from each blog). I love GiftZip.com because I can buy gift cards from hundreds of different retailers in one place. I don't like providing my credit card number to multiple sites, so having one consolidated location to purchase different gift cards works for me!

Coffee on the Patio is giving away a $250 Amazon gift card! I have so many things on my wishlist on Amazon, I could do some serious shopping with this!

Check out the Mom's Breakfast Club for 24 chances to win $100 every week!

24 BlogHer moms are sharing their summer plans, and offering a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card thanks to Kellogg.

• Mannland 5 got season passes to a nearby water park and wants to cram in a few more visits before summer is over.
• FiddleDeeDee shares her "recipe" for a homemade slip-and-slide. Water fun doesn't have to be expensive!
• C Beth Blog shares her summer vacation memories. She made me feel like I was there.
• Shells in your Pocket made a summer to-do list of affordable activities her kids wanted to do, all while making family memories.
• Jenny on the Spot enjoyed “Drive-in on our drive way” night for an fun, affordable family activity - makes me wish we had a garage instead of a carport!
• Swistle goes to the pool almost every day, and also admits to letting her kids have extra TV and video game time (don't we all! I swear my son played more Xbox this summer than he did all last school year, which was OK with me).
• Finding Bonggamom shared her list of 14 things she wants to do before summer is over.
• Welcome to Quadville! is planning a trip to Disneyland. With quads, I bet it'll be a blast! There's nothing better than experiencing Disney through the eyes of a child (or 4).
• Deb, Mom of 3 Girls will be in the middle of moving over Labor Day weekend so they can't spend the end of summer like they usually do, so they're making alternate plans.
• Cookin' Canuck shared her experiences camping with the kids. There's nothing more fun than a pair of walkie-talkies to a couple of boys! My son and his best friend used to have all sorts of adventures and used their walkie-talkies to keep in touch. One of the best presents I ever gave my son.
• My Beautiful Day made a list of things her family wanted to do before summer was over, and shared pictures and memories of their recent trip to the Minnesota Zoo (indoor exhibits only and I don't blame them - TOO HOT!
• V & Co shared camping memories, past and present.
• Because I Said So's family went on a trip to the Outer Banks. I'm sooo jealous, that's my most favorite destination vacation spot (and where I'm planning on going next month). I wonder if they went to Corolla/Duck, or someplace further south?