My 44th Birthday Giveaway Extravaganza
by Jenners • 09/26/2011 • Giveaway, Lessons Learned, Lists, My Take On..., Silliness • 147 Comments
As in years past, I will be getting my very own personal chocolate ice cream cake for my birthday ... and I won
Guess who is 44 today? Moi! (I know, I know … I don’t look a day over 20!)
In honor of my birth, I’ve decided to celebrate by having a giveaway extravaganza! (OK … when you see what I’m actually giving away, perhaps “extravaganza” is too big of a word. But I had to get you to read this post somehow, right?)
First of all, I will be giving away three of my RIP books: Faithful Place by Tana French, Blacklands by Belinda Bauer and The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff (I still need to write the review for the last one). The entry form is at the end of this post. Just fill it out and you’re entered to win.
Secondly, I’m also giving away 44 pieces of wisdom that I’ve accumulated during my time here on Earth! This way, EVERYONE is a winner even if you don’t get one of the books! So here you go—absolutely 100%, free advice from someone who you probably shouldn’t listen to all that closely.
44 Pieces of Wisdom From Jenners
- The bad things in life that will happen to you are probably something you’ll never be able to predict or prepare for so don’t worry too much and just enjoy life while you can.
- Chances are, nothing will happen to you when you eat raw eggs in cake batter or cookie dough.
- If you can’t lie well, just tell the truth.
- Flattery and begging will get people to write a custom song for you based on your own blog post.
- Dance like no one is watching. (And check to make sure no one really is watching because, if you’re like me, you can’t dance at all.)
- If you are incapable of remembering to take coupons when you do the shopping, don’t waste your time cutting them out in the first place.
- Kids like when you are silly.
- Everything in life worth having (kids, puppies, spouses) requires quite a bit of work on your part.
- You can’t change people.
- Short-term pain equals long-term gain.
- Do what you love and the money will follow. Unless what you love doing is reading and writing about books you’ve read, in which case you might occasionally get a pittance from Amazon if you remember to include affiliate links on your book review posts.
- Vacations are an essential part of life. Don’t ever let your vacation days go unused.
- A good night’s sleep can make almost any situation look better.
- Authors who haven’t written a bad book yet (as far as I know): Tana French, Bill Bryson, A.J. Jacobs, Mary Roach.
- A little bit of chocolate is OK. Lots of chocolate is even better.
- If your husband tells you to try something and has a camera ready to document your reaction, be very very careful.
- Getting the mail can be fun … even if you hardly ever get anything but junk mail and bills because occasionally you get something good!
- It is good form to write thank you notes.
- Walking in the rain with the rain drops hitting your umbrella is a pleasant feeling.
- Curing up in bed with rain tapping against your windows and reading a good book is even more of a pleasant feeling.
- Deciding to make a list with more than 10 items on it can be daunting when you didn’t think about what you were going to say beforehand.
- Puppy paws and baby feet are among the cutest things in the world.
- Ignore your phone and the computer when spending time with your loved ones.
- Vegetables just aren’t very good but you should try to eat them at least once a day anyway.
- Walking is good exercise, free and easy. Do it as much as possible.
- People know when you use fake tanning stuff.
- After age 40, you just don’t care so much what people think and life gets easier.
- You can never have too much butter on your popcorn.
- There is a book that I enjoyed and gave away in a giveaway being given away again by another blogger. Go enter to try and win it! (If you could even understand what I was trying to say in that first sentence.)
- Writing a list of 44 bits of wisdom you learned isn’t easy … especially when you are not very wise to begin with.
- Don’t cheat at board games. It is stupid to do so and annoying to others.
- Don’t cook everything on high heat. Things will burn.
- If you still have to look up how to boil eggs at age 44, chances are you are never going to be a good cook.
- Wheat bread isn’t actually all that bad.
- Although 35 seems like it isn’t all that far from 44, it is when you are writing down nuggets of wisdom.
- If you want to buy something, wait a week to see if you still want it.
- The previous bit of wisdom does not apply to books.
- Painting your kitchen yellow is a good idea. It looks sunny and happy.
- Clothes with hidden elastic waistbands are your friend.
- There is no need to keep up with the Kardashians.
- It is fun to shower people you love with gifts.
- If you shower people you love with gifts, they might shower you with gifts too.
- Very few people have the same idea of what constitutes “warm.”
- You should try all foods at least once just to see if you like them. Even something that sounds as wrong as “cheesecake.”
If these 44 nuggets of wisdom weren’t enough for you, here is the form to fill out to enter the giveaway for the books.
No more submissions accepted at this time.
Happy 44th Birthday and what a way to celebrate! I love the nuggets of wisdom you just shared.
Thanks for sharing all those book reviews and this giveaway!
Thanks for the kind comment … and best of luck in the giveaway.
Happy Birthday to my fellow September birthday gal!! Loved your list. I will benefit from all your wisdom. Not too sure if I can go near cheesecake though. You’re so right that I don’t need to lose any sleep keeping up with those crazy Kardashians. LOL
I dance all the time and hope that no one videotapes me for Youtube. I’m keeping my eye on my teenage son, though I think the embarrassment would be too much for him!!
Lots of chocolate got me through poison ivy. The best medicine. Now if only I could have rubbed it on the itchiness. I would have done anything!!!
And happy birthday to you! We have a very crowded birth month. I guess being 9 months after New Year’s is why! : )
I’m glad you finally seem to be done with the poison ivy. Not a fun thing I know!
Happy Birthday to you. The 40′s are the best ever.
I agree 100%. You can really relax and enjoy life I think.
Happy birthday! I had one on the 17th, so we share a birth month! I just turned 40, and it was the tiniest bit traumatic, but I did have cheesecake and my parents bought me a Snape iPhone case and a gift certificate to Amazon.
Yay … another September baby! There are a lot of us, aren’t there? Don’t stress about 40 … the forties are the BEST!! And I love the gifts you got! Wouldn’t it be cool if you could have a “Snape” voice setting on your phone? Pick out good books with the gift certificate.
Actually, if I did some downloading and creative manipulation in Garage Band, I could probably make a Snape ring tone.
I hope you had a wonderful birthday. Thank you for the wisdom. I kept thinking though I read something about chocolate more than once. Hmmm – I need to go get some now.
Baby feet and puppies pals – totally. And I’ve always wanted to paint my kitchen yellow.
I think all kitchens should be yellow. If I was president, it would be a rule!
Haha, #6, yes, so true! And #43. And lots of the others
I hope you had a wonderful birthday! I’m sorry I didn’t get to stop over on the actual day to send you birthday wishes.
Once you get past a certain age, the whole birthday thing isn’t that big of a deal. That is why I insist on my own personal cake.
Awesome nuggets fellow 44 yr old! Really great list! I’m so glad your day was grand. Cheers!
Can you believe we are 44!!??? Somedays I feel like I’m that age and other days I swear I could still be back in college with you!
I’m always late to your posts. I’m sorry! Happy, Happy Belated Birthday! I hoipe you had a wonderful day and enjoyed your chocolate cake!
Did you do anything special fr your birthday?!
Thank you for the giveaway!
We didn’t really do anything special for my birthday since it was on a Monday and we were all tuckered out from BB’s celebration. That is why I get my own cake. I’ve been giving myself “free time” to read all week to make up for it! HA!
Happy (belated) birthday! I am obviously a little behind on my reader. I hope you enjoyed your day!
I’m ALWAYS behind on my reader so don’t feel bad. I run about two to three days behind at all times! I figure better late than never, right?
Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Jenners, Happy Birthday to you! I hope you had a fantastic day making it all about you!
I try to make every day about me. Sadly, it is really only my birthday that I have any success! HAHA!
Happy belated birthday, Jenners! Wow, I just realized that you and TCFKATLO (The child formally known as the little one) have birthdays that are reeeeally close together. You are technically stealing his birthday thunder by having yours after his. But I guess you call dibs first so it’s his own fault for being born 2 day before your birthday, right?
I do envy you for getting a whole cake to yourself. I tried that once but Jason only let me choose 2 slices instead of a whole cake. I guess the fact that a whole cake costs about $50 probably didn’t help in my case either. Darn expensive Tokyo prices.
Thanks for sharing your 44 years of wisdom! I shall print that out and frame it so I can live by your words
Happy birthday again!
No no no … the Little One/BB stole MY birthday thunder! I was here first … and now no one makes a big deal out of my birthday because I’m old!! That is why I get my own cake. Of course, I wouldn’t get my own cake if it cost $50!!! Yikes! Put another con in the “why I should move to Japan” list.
Happy birthday!! I *love* your 44 words of wisdom! All of them are so very true.
Thanks. I’m particularly proud of the Kardashian one! : )
Jenners, Happy Happy Birthday; Celebrate 44 with pride. I love your lists. That forgetting the coupons is me (just not a coupon gal).
ENJOy that cake too.
I’m not a coupon gal either, apparently. Those extreme couponing people would freak out at us!
Happy Birthday! I loved your 44 pieces of wisdom but totally thought your giveaway would be a puppy
Not your puppy of course.
My puppy isn’t going anywhere … though there are moments when I wish I could just freeze him and get a break for a moment!
Happy, happy Birthday! I hope it is a great day, and that you enjoy your chocolate cake! (complete with a good book, of course!)
The chocolate cake has been enjoyed to its fullest (as sad as that is to type). And I started a new book yesterday that is turning out to be really interesting so that was a true gift.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! My son is turning 44 soon! lol I love your 44 Pieces of Wisdom!
44 is a great age, huh? I guess your memories of 44 years ago and mine are quite different! : )
I turned 44 in July. I still can’t believe I’m 44. Sounds weird just to say it.
May you have the best birthday you could imagine and then some that you couldn’t.
I love your birthday wish! Thanks. And 44 is easier to remember than 43. I swear that all last year, I kept forgetting how old I was.
I’m a bit late but Happy Birthday! I hope you had a fantastic day.
It was a fantastic day. Chocolate and books. What could be better!?
p.s. Happy Birthday! I hope next year is filled with new brilliant memories and wonderful books.
I love your list and think #9 is particularly true. As is “There is no need to keep up with the Kardashians.”
There really is NO NEED to keep up with the Kardashians is there? Not one single reason.
Happy, happy Birthday, Jenners! Do you really have to look up how to boil eggs?
I love elastic waistbands (but yes, hidden ones). However, at home sweatpants and the like are perfectly wonderful.
You’re so right about waiting a week to buy things. Usually you forget by then!
Yup … I really do look up how to boil and egg. (And how to cook corn on the cob.) Sad but true.
Sweatpants are my pants of choice. Again, sad but true.
And the “wait a week thing” has save me so much money!
Happy Birthday to you! I particularly like the one about baby hands and puppy paws. You’ve learned some wonderful things during the past 44 years, thanks for sharing.
Thanks for listening to me share. Yay for puppy paws and baby feet!
Happy 44th!!! The chocolate cake looks delicious — love ice cream cake
If you’re not going to share, I’ll get one of my own for my 44th coming up in November. And I won’t share with you either. So there!
Anyway, thanks for the giveaway. And i enjoyed your 44 pieces of wisdom. Both my daughter(6) and I are addicted to snail mail b/c I get a ton of it.
Sounds about right re: the cakes. I just cannot bear to not eat it all myself. And we’re always the same age!! How cool. And have a child about the same age! Even cooler!
Thank you for sharing your hard-won wisdom with us! Happy Birthday!!!
“Hard-won” is right. I learned this stuff so you don’t have to! HAHA!
Sage advice (probably because I agree with most of it LOL). Enjoy your cake!
Obviously, you are a wise woman yourself!
Lovely, Jenners! And my kitchen IS yellow (and gorgeous) and I laughed out loud at the thing about cutting out coupons, that’s so me. Happy birthday, wonderful woman!
And you have a fancy designer kitchen so obviously I’m right on the money! Glad to hear I’m not the only one who wastes tons of time clipping coupons … only to leave them behind every damn time!
Happy Birthday! I did read this on your actual birthday, but somehow couldn’t figure out how to leave a regular comment and not just fill out the freebie thingamajig (ooh…do you remember those toys?) I hope you had a great day and I want to thank you for your words of wisdom from one 44 year old to another. I had funnier things to say yesterday, but somehow they have all escaped me today…..sigh…..
Yay … another 44 year old! I totally relate to forgetting all the witty things I was going to say in a comment. I think it is our “advanced” age!
Happy birthday – I absolutely know what you mean about a husband with a camera….
Yes … be very afraid of a husband with a camera. Good things do not happen with that!
Happy Birthday! Love your philosophy, especially that kids like it when you’re silly. Sometimes adults do, too.
Silliness does not get nearly enough attention as it deserves. I do my best to change that.
Happy birthday! Love those words of wisdom!
Why thank you!
Happy Birthday to you!!!!
I totally agree with you on the lying thing. I’m a totaly crap liar so I just have to tell the truth.
And walking is the best exercise ever.
I’m a total crap liar too. You can tell instantly that I’m lying so I’ve found that I should just tell the truth. I get caught anyway.
Happy Birthday! I sure hope you have a good one.
It was quite delightful. Thanks!
Your wisdom is wise – and hilarious! Happy happy birthday. Hope you enjoyed the cake!
The cake has been most delicious, thank you very much.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JENNERS! Did you hear that all the way over there? I am preparing a series of posts for my 40th coming up in a few weeks and your words of wisdom have given me much to contemplate (and steal). I hope your birthday was full of ice cream cake, puppy paws, kid hugs, and ‘surprises’ from Mr. Jenners!
Jeez .. I heard you. You don’t have to yell!! ; )
Wow … 40 is coming up for you! Cool! I love my 40s. I think you get freed of so much crap that just lets you enjoy things. Can’t wait to see what how you celebrate it!
Okay, fine, I’ll scroll through 5,687 comments just to get to say happy birthday to you! My birthday is coming up next week, so SAVE SOME CAKE for me! (ha ha – that’s as funny as MY having any cake left after a whole week!)
Good one, Jill! The chances that I will have cake left to share with you are as good as the chances of the U.S. finding WMD in Iraq! (OK …maybe not the best joke but I tried.) We’re almost birthday buddies!! You’re a Libra too, right? (Not that I believe in any of that stuff…)
Happy Birthday mother of BB. I hope you had a great big chocolate cake.
I got a medium sized chocolate ice cream cake … and I’m slowly devouring it all by myself! Yum!
Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday Dear Jenners, Happy Birthday to yoooooooou! I can’t sing a lick, but if I could, I’d be using my Aretha Franklin voice.
You sounded great here. You sounded just like Aretha!
A very happy birthday to you!!!! Love your wisdom. :0)
I was wondering if I might be sharing a birthday with your new little baby. I suppose not!
I love your list and agree with everything on it. Especially #13: Everything seems better after a good night’s sleep. So true. Happy Birthday Jenners!
I truly believe that sleep is the cure for most ills.
Happy Birthday! It was hard to include only 44 nuggets, wasn’t it? I love that your advice is all over the board. Would make a great mini-book. Like the ones you see at the bookstore checkout counter.
Cheers! Have some chocolate for me!
I’ve always thought that it would be great to write one of those little books. It would be easy to do and I bet you make quite a bit from it. I never see authors on them though.
44 is a lot of wisdom…..I’m older and I’m too tired to make a list!!
I hope your day is wonderful, enjoy your cake, and wishing you many more.
I’m realizing that I may be too tired and old to make a list too. I don’t think there will be a similar list next year! ; )
Happy Birthday Jenners!!!
Have a fabulous day and enjoy that chocolate cake!
Great advice, I especially like 8 and 9.
I learned the hard way that you can’t change people. Who you get is who you will always have.
Happy birthday! I love all your tips, but I have to disagree about the vegetables – some are actually quite nice
I admire you for making it all the way to 44 pearls of wisdom – you’ve made me smile!
What vegetables are so good? Obviously I’ve not tried them yet.
Happy Birthday!!!
Thanks!
Happy Birthday! Hope your day is as wonderful as you are. Great pearls of wisdom and while many are funny they are all so true!
You are so kind. Thanks!
Happy birthday, my dear! The next step of combining our husbands to make a single better one is for me to tell you that mine is lactose-intolerant and can’t eat any ice cream cake! No sharing! It’s awesome, let me tell you.
Sad for him though.
Have a wonderful day!
Oh man. We need to isolate that gene stat and insert it into Mr. Jenners!
Happy Birthday!!! Have a wonderful day but try not to eat ALL the cake!
Well, I will TRY but I’m not going to promise anything.
Happy Happy Birthday! You had some good ones in there. Though I just keep thinking about the chocolate one-darn you
Hope your day is wonderful
Admit it … you are a chocoholic just like me!
How’d you get so wise? Must be the chocolate. Be sure and add that nugget to next year’s list.
Happy birthday cutie pie.
If there was a link between chocolate and wisdom, I’d be the wisest woman in the world!
Happy birthday, Jenners! Hope this day is filled with lots of books and chocolate! Loved your pieces of wisdom!
There was definitely a good amount of chocolate and I’m about to order my books with my gift certificate!
Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear JENNERS! Happy birthday to you!
What a lovely singing voice you have!
Happy birthday!
Thanks! And I can’t wait to read more about your Kindle and libraries post!
Happy birthday Jenners! I do have to amend your #7. Kids like it when you are silly, until they are about 12. Then you horrify and embarrass them. Also, in addition to puppy paws and baby toes being precious, I love puppy ears. So soft. I could sit all day and stroke puppy ears.
Oh yes to puppy ears!! I love stroking Romeo’s ears. They are so long and silky. And good to know that silliness only lasts until age 12.
Have a wonderful birthday, Jenners! Thanks for hosting this great giveaway. I enjoyed your list of wise bits.
I had a lovely birthday … and good luck in the giveaway.
So glad I came by your blog today, just in time to wish you Happy Birthday!
May your day be filled with love, friends, family and tons of hugs! You deserve it all!
Thanks for the wonderful wishes!! I appreciate it.
Happy Birthday… Hope you gets lots of chocolate… And books, of course. Thanks for the giveaway. I couldn’t chose between the books, so I marked all three of them
No problem marking all three. I just don’t want someone to win and get a book they DON’T want. And so far, books and chocolate have been received as gifts so I’m good!
Happy Birthday to you!! And to me! Some pretty great people were born today. I hated being the youngest growing up, but now that I am 51 I love being the youngest.
Happy Birthday to you too!!! I love that we share a birthday. Must be something about this day that turns people into readers!
Happy birthday to my young friend! It sounds like you are very wise to me.
Thank you for calling me young. I love you for it.
Here’s something for next year:
45. When a hotel says free internet it’s usually a lie.
Happy Birthday! May your day be filled with books and all sorts of chocolately goodness!!
We’ve found that out the hard way!! There is not much that hotels give for free.
Happy, happy, happy Birthday, Jenners. I love your Pieces of Wisdom and want you to know your posts always make me smile. This is a truly wonderful gift you give to all your readers:)
Awww….thanks for your kind comment. That made my day much brighter!
Happy Birthday to you, Jenners! It seems like you and BB have birthdays very close to each other! I also loved your words of wisdom, and need to remember some of those little nuggets of wisdom. I hope that you have a wonderful birthday filled with celebration and lots and lots of chocolate cake!
The Little One was born two days before my birthday … thereby forever eclipsing my own special day. That is why I get my very own cake. (That and because I don’t like sharing it.)
Hope you have a wonderful birthday! Since I went digital I won’t enter your giveaway, but now I must get French’s new one, hadn’t heard of it yet.
You are wise beyond your years and I’m glad you finally caught up with me! 44 is great fun! Looks like we’ve learned a lot of the same lessons throughout the years.
I can’t wait for Tana French’s new one. I hadn’t seen anything on it until I went searching info on it. I’m definitely preordering it!
Well happy birthday! I can’t respond to nearly as much as I’d like to respond to in your Words of Wisdom, but I will say that like you, I also can’t dance at all.
Have a great day!
I only dance with my son and when I’m 100% sure I am alone!!
Yep, me too. I dance with my boys, and that’s it.
Have a great birthday with LOTS of books!
My husband faked me out and e-mailed me a gift certificate to Amazon to buy books. I was getting worried!
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear Jenners
Happy Birthday to you.
Many thanks for those words of wisdom, I shall of course take particular joy in remembering number 15. Enjoy your cake. x
Thank you for the song. You have such a lovely singing voice!! And #15 is the most critical item on the list. But you knew that already.
Happy birthday you old fart!!!!!!! xo
Why thank you, you young whippersnapper!
36 and 37 had me laughing my butt off as I am currently planning on buying some books today in full knowledge that I promised myself I wouldn’t buy any books for the rest of the year.
Happy Birthday!
Isn’t it so wrong when you know that you are doing something bad but you do it anyway? Almost makes it feel like a crime or something! I’ll be committing that same crime tonight.
Happy Birthday!
Thank you for the giveaway, and for that amazing list
Hope you’ve a wonderful day!
Good luck in the giveaway … the list really wasn’t worth all that much! HAHA!
Happy Birthday to you!!! What a great list. Very true and a lot of them very funny.
Thanks for the wishes … and for saying that some of my nuggets of wisdom rang true! : )
Happy birthday! Today is my husband’s birthday as well. Hope you have a wonderful day, and I love your bits of wisdom! Some of them made me laugh out loud at how true they were
Thanks for the giveaway too!!
All the best people are born on September 26th, huh? Happy Birthday to your hubby as well!! Go 26ers!
Happy Birthday!!!! What a wise and wonderful list you’ve given us. I’ll take it to heart.
Here’s the link to my give-away post: http://ksrgmck.wordpress.com/2011/09/26/its-up-for-grabs/
I’ve also provided it on my “review” page. Thanks again for sharing the book!
Enjoy your day. Do you have an icecream cake hidden in the freezer?
Thanks for the info on your giveaway. I didn’t have the right link when I wrote the post.
And I buried the cake where no one will see it — under frozen veggies!!
Very nice, Jenners! And a very happy birthday to you! We September birthdays have to stick together (mine was on the 14th, but I’m 10 years older, gasp!). Loved the 44 bits of wisdom. Am in awe that you could think of that many. Actually own or have read all 3 of your giveaways. Nice of you to do it though. Have a wonderful week and I hope you get lots of books and chocolate (both of which you can never have too many of).
Yay for September birthdays! I figure we are all New Year’s babies! ; )
I can’t believe you have read or own all three of the books in my giveaway!!! Oh well … stay tuned for future giveaways. Maybe something will suit you better.
My birthday was also the 14th, the big 4.0.! Happy birthday to you and thank you for the great reviews. They are a real pleasure
Library love,
Alicia (Public Librarian)
Happy 40th! The 40s are the best! You have the freedom of not caring about what people thing and still have the energy to do what you want. Enjoy … and thanks for the kind words.