I added: “If you’re inspired to get poetic, go for it!”

Crazy Computer Dad commented: “You said poetic…so I had to try…the meetin at the end is a reference to meetin.org.”

He’s the winner and here’s his poem:

Un-Lonely

The days are short and drawing in,
the gray rain clouds make sunlight dim,
in darkness each workday begins,
in darkness does each workday end.

the cold December winds and rain
daily reminders of the pain
that warmth once held is gone again
this cold house is despair’s domain

Now I have two paths before me,
Not predetermined destiny,
The future what I choose to be,
Be alone or with company.

Some nights alone and some with friends,
Some friends new and some new again,
I find a way to be with them,
email phone blog lunch match meetin.

~~~

Congrats! The prize?

He has won an Afterglow Candle from Babeland. (Between you and me, I think that Crazy Computer Dad is psyched about the fact that this candle doubles as hot massage oil.)

Loneliness used to hit me really hard around this time: the holidays. Don’t get me wrong: it still hits, but fortunately I can sit with it now. I’ve learned to turn to family and friends, exercise, reading. (If you’ve read my book, then you know that I used to turn to one thing only: men.)

And, of course, there’s this blog.

Although an online connection can feel surreal — how well do we really know each other? — it has taken away so much of the loneliness. I can only hope that this blog is doing the same for many of you. When I read your comments, I swear I can hear some of your voices.

There’s this poem I recently read — The Rider, by Naomi Shihab Nye — which beautifully sums up my relationship with loneliness:

A boy told me
if he roller-skated fast enough
his loneliness couldn’t catch up to him,
the best reason I ever heard
for trying to be a champion…

On that note, I’m giving away an Afterglow Candle from Babeland for the holidays. Who doesn’t need a little light?

Not only does it burn up to 42 hours, but the candle doubles as a massage oil! It comes with a body brush that you can dip into the melted wax and use as massage oil on your skin (or someone else’s skin? I’m just saying!)

“More than a candle, it’s an encounter.”

So, let’s hear how you handle loneliness. What do you do when you’re feeling lonely?

If you’re inspired to get poetic, go for it! You have until Friday to participate!

Read “The Rider” by Naomi Shihab Nye in its entirety here.

Friends and readers:

If you haven’t yet taken part in the online Auction to Support Jim Everson — a.k.a. Depot Dad — you  have until December 4!

As you might recall, Jim is the single dad of two kids who lives in my neck of the woods. He was recently diagnosed with skin cancer that traveled to his lymph nodes.

I’m not the only blogger who connected with Jim online and has since been in awe of his spirit and sense of humor.

With the holidays rushing toward us, this auction offers an array of amazing gifts:

–  A 6-day river-rafting trip along the Salmon River in Idaho
–  A helicopter tour of San Francisco for four
–  A 2-night stay on the Oregon coast, with a balcony that overlooks the water
–  Fused-glass artwork
–  Dinner for two at the O Izakaya Lounge in San Francisco, and two movie passes
–   Web site design
–  Business and life-coaching sessions
–  and much more!

You can get to the auction here.

Funds will be used to help Jim battle!

You can learn more about Jim at SupportJim.com and follow his weekly progress at Counteract.

Thank you!!

Photo of Jim and his daughter from SupportJim.com

Recently, I asked you:

If you could throw a holiday party and invite the man/woman of your dreams, tell us:

• Who would the guest of your dreams be?
• And, which of Beaucoup’s holiday party favors would you have at the party?

Beaucoup picked the winner at random: Brooke will receive a $75 gift card to their site!

Brooke wrote: “I’d invite my Grandma Donna who passed away when I was 12.”

“We always had Christmas Eve at her house. After she passed away, Christmas Eve just wasn’t the same without her. Christmas Eve kind of got pushed to the wayside on my dad’s side of the family. I’d give anything to have one more Christmas Eve with her and my dad’s side of the family…

If I could have Christmas with my Grandma Donna again, I’d choose the Beaded Christmas Napkin Rings. My grandmother’s tree had many decorations that resembled these napkin rings, and she’d be delighted to have them on her Christmas table.”

Congrats Brooke!

Photo of Baucoup’s beaded Christmas napkin rings

~~~

Friends and readers:

If you haven’t yet taken part in the online Auction to Support Jim Everson — a.k.a. Depot Dad — you  have until December 4!

As you might recall, Jim is the single dad of two kids who lives in my neck of the woods. He was recently diagnosed with skin cancer that traveled to his lymph nodes.

I’m not the only blogger who connected with Jim online and has since been in awe of his spirit and sense of humor.

With the holidays rushing toward us, this auction offers an array of amazing gifts:

–  A 6-day river-rafting trip along the Salmon River in Idaho
–  A helicopter tour of San Francisco for four
–  A 2-night stay on the Oregon coast, with a balcony that overlooks the water
–  Fused-glass artwork
–  Dinner for two at the O Izakaya Lounge in San Francisco, and two movie passes
–   Web site design
–  Business and life-coaching sessions
–  and much more!

You can get to the auction here.

Funds will be used to help Jim battle the cancer.

You can learn more about Jim at SupportJim.com and follow his weekly progress at Counteract.

Thank you!!

Photo of Jim and his daughter from SupportJim.com

Recently, I told you that I’ve been working on “something big” for the past six months... a surprise!

Your guesses were out of this world: some of you had me doubled over the keyboard laughing, others astounded me with your brilliant ideas.

I even gave you a couple of clues:

No, it’s not a second book (yet). And, no, I’m not getting married (yet).

The answer is: no one guessed the exact answer!

Can you believe it?

Attaining Me was close when she guessed that I might be a “contributor for a magazine.”

RJ at Single Dad seemed to secretly wish that I might launch a “new reality show…and it’s going to showcase the sex toys.”

But no.

Nappy Kitchen was way off the mark with her comment: “You’re a lesbian and will be replacing one of the ladies at ‘The View’ very soon.”

Dad’s House and Amy Nathan both guessed that I was getting a dog –

Say what? Now that’s out of left field!

Are you ready for the secret?

More than one year ago, fate brought me together with a single parent expert whom I’ve long admired: Dr. Leah Klungness, co-author of the No. 1, best-selling self-help book The Complete Single Mother: Reassuring Answers to Your Most Challenging Concerns

Both of us were invited to speak at a conference for single moms at U.C. Berkeley. Dr. Leah flew in from New York, and we hit it off right away. Within five minutes, we dropped our individual planned presentations to give an impromptu talk on sex and dating.

We revealed a lot — and it showed. The audience laughed, and afterwords, we chatted with a line of curious women.

After that, of course, Dr. Leah and I talked often. We discovered that we both felt strongly about this: single mom sites concentrate too heavily on “mommy only,” often ignoring the fact that single moms — and dads — can still enjoy adult perks.

This is why we’ve launched SingleMommyHood.com: the first-ever website to offer a whole new way to think about single parenting.

~~~

First, please don’t worry: Single Mom Seeking isn’t going anywhere!

SingleMommyHood.com will dish about the issues that you often ask me about — the honest, candid straight talk that’s not always easy to find online.

Every week, we will offer tips on sex, dating, intimacy… Of course, we know that single parents juggle a lot more than dating. That’s why we’ll have advice on parenting, clutter, your career, custody, your ex — and more!

Now, how about those giveaways?

When RJ, a.k.a, “Single Dad,” was here last week, he saw all the boxes from Babeland piled high in the corner of my office: yes, your prizes. (No, I would not let him take home the unique cupcake pan or the cuffs!)

• Attaining Me has won the pink vibrating Paris ducky for her bath (identical to the one in the photo) — plus a copy of Single Mom Seeking.
• SDMktg is quite the baker, so he’s getting the penis cupcake pan.
• Because the Quest for T is so eager to get those super cuffs, they’re hers!

Now, please go to SingleMommyHood.com!

You’re the first eyes on the site, so please offer us your feedback. We’re all ears. Thank you!

The folks at Beaucoup recently asked if they could host a holiday giveaway to one special single parent at Single Mom Seeking.

Many of us, yours truly included, are feeling the pangs of the economy as the holidays approach. I figured this might be a good way to lift our spirits. Are you game?

Beaucoup offers one-of-a-kind party favors. My favorites are their environmental friendly gift bags, made with textured mulberry paper and  hand pressed natural flower petals. Mmmm.

So, here’s how the contest works:

If you could throw a holiday party and invite the man/woman of your dreams, tell us:

Who would the guest of your dreams be? (He/she could be a celebrity or just your average human being, on whom you have a crush.)

And, which of Beaucoup’s holiday party favors would you have at the party? (Go wild!)

~~~

Beaucoup will be choosing the winner in seven days — the winner will receive a $75 gift card to their site, just in time for the holidays!

Photo of mini martini glasses from Beaucoup… this might give you some ideas? You can find some of their most popular holiday favors here. ]]> http://singlemomseeking.com/blog/2008/11/16/giveway-contest-holiday-party-favors-nov-3-7/feed/ http://singlemomseeking.com/blog/2008/11/10/a-contest-and-the-winner-is/ http://singlemomseeking.com/blog/2008/11/10/a-contest-and-the-winner-is/#comments Mon, 10 Nov 2008 07:15:44 +0000 singlemomseeking http://singlemomseeking.com/blog/?p=1653 Announcing another contest!

For the past six months, I’ve been very stealth about something big.

I’ve been thinking about how to tell you this for a long while. It’s a surprise!

If you can guess what I’m getting ready to share, you’re a winner. (I’ve already opened my big mouth to a few of you. You know who you are, I’m sorry, but you’re automatically excluded.)

First clue: it’s not a second book (yet).

Second clue: I’m not getting married (yet).

Any ideas?

I’ll be giving away goodies from Babeland for this contest — plus a copy of Single Mom Seeking.

I might need to get creative on this one because I could have more than one winner.

For starters, here are a few of the prizes:

A pink vibrating Paris ducky for your bath

Would any of my male readers use a pink vibrating duck? (That’s what I thought.)

A penis cupcake pan

Would any of my male readers make “cock cakes”? (That’s what I thought.)

Super cuffs

Say what?

Thanks to all of you who shared your good news in Aleve’s contest to win $100 dinner at PF Chang’s.

The winner — picked randomly out of a hat — is Mom2Maddie99, who said:

“I met an A+ single dad today at a soccer party & I’m hoping he calls.”

Congratulations!

And do tell us: Did he call?

~~~

“A vegan alternative to leather restraints…. a pair of neoprene cuffs with nylon straps.” (Guys? Yes? I’m running out of ideas here!)

I’d never liked dogs — that was until I dated the Israeli and met his true love dog.

I always thought dogs were needy and co-dependent. I’d had enough of cleaning up someone else’s poop.

I’m a woman who grew up with cats — I’d take a cat over a dog any day. So, I’d thought.

Then I met the Israli’s dog. The first time I opened my door, some brute thing lunged at me. She was a Rottweiller/Pitt Bull mix.

I stumbled backwards. “That cannot come into my house.”

“Don’t be scared,” the Israeli said, gripping her collar. “She’s nice. She just wants to smell you.”

“She doesn’t look nice,” I said. “I don’t want her smelling me!”

“Ah, c’mon, just look at her.” He scratched under her chin. He was laughing.

“It’s not funny.” I didn’t want to look at her. I didn’t want anything to do with her.

I was also terrified that the dog would eat my kid.

Instead, over the next year, my kid became that dog’s master. She was in control over this beast:

“Sit!”
“Down!”
“Roll over!”

I’d never seen this side of her. You go girl.

~~~

But this surprised me just as much: I grew to love that pup. Talk about unconditional love. I get it now. I do.
Recently, I picked up Wendy Diamond’s What A Lucky Dog! How To Understand Men Through Their Dogs, in which she analyzes 32 breeds for their most revealing traits.

A. has a pit bull. One of my celebrity crushes - Cesar Millan, a.k.a. “The Dog Whisperer” — owns several Pit Bulls, his most famous one named “Daddy.”

Hmmm.

Read the rest of the post here, at Kizmeet….

Photo of the Rottweiller/Pitt Bull mix with you know who….

It’s time for some good news, don’t you think?

Aleve contacted me recently because the company has just created a “Good News Choir Widget.”

Say what?

This is a new widget that gives you the chance to share your Good News with your friends — and blog readers, Facebook, Twitter, you name it.

Apropos of this announcement, Aleve is giving away a $100 dinner gift certificate to a PF Chang’s restaurant near you!

It’s easy: you type your message - a maximum of 50 characters - in the blank space and press “submit.” The widget will do the magic for you.

Here’s how the contest works:

In 50 characters or less, share your good news in the Comments section.

Your news can be about anything: your kid used the potty for his/her first time, your job gave you a bonus, your divorce is final. Anything at all!

The winner will be selected at random — which means that the kid will pick the winner out of a hat — on Wednesday, November 5.

P.S. If you win, let’s hope you go all out for a kids-free, grown up dinner at PF Chang’s. Of course, eating out with the kids is fun! But don’t you deserve one night off?

Ready, set, go….

Update: I actually had to get permission to give away 100+ condom tins (condoms included!) during Saturday’s reading. Yes, I will be carrying these on public transportation. Wish me luck.

My Seal Press publicist just wrote back: “At least you’ll be prepared!”

Prepared for what?–

Please, people, don’t make me trek back home with these.

~~~

Remember when I asked for your funniest condom story?

Here are the winners of the hip condom case compact, “Just in Case.”

Amanda practically had me on the floor with this one:

“As a parent you know that nothing in your house is safe from little hands. I had attended a Bachelorette party — and one of the giveaways of the night was a pouch of fun colored condoms. When I got home I tucked the the condoms in a drawer and forgot about them.

A few weeks later, as I was cooking dinner, my daughters were outside playing in water. One of my daughters came in and asked, ‘Can we play with water balloons?’

I said, ‘Sure.’

Well, when I went outside… My then 6 year old daughter was standing at the hose, filling up a bright pink condom with water. Yes, there it was.

She turned to me and said: ‘These are the biggest water balloons you have ever bought! Thanks Mom!’ ”

And the male winner?

Lance from Honey and Lance – because he needs an alternative. Keeping condoms in the glove compartment of your car is not safe. (Lance, your girlfriend might like this case, too! Hint, hint.)

Congrats Amanda and Lance!

~~~

This Saturday, you’re invited to Litquake’s “Lit Crawl,” a three-hour “literary crawl” through the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District.

It’s free! It’s fun! You can see the Lit Crawl line-up here.

I’ll be reading with the lovely Seal Press authors Camille Cusumano and Joan Price, too.

We start at 7:15 at The Women’s Building.

Don’t forget about my giveaways!

See you there?

~~~~

How did I get hooked into this one? Oh, yes, I remember now. One Condoms offered to be a sponsor of Single Mom Seeking.

And although there’s no dinero in this deal, One Condoms has made some really cool personalized condom tins, which I get to give away at readings! Here’s what the tin looks like (and, yes, Dad’s House, you will get a fancy one!)

So, yours truly is on the One® Design Contest Judges’ Panel! This is where you – my innovative, creative, smart, sassy readers — come in.

Below are some my favorite images — a few of which could appear in the next series of One® Condoms….

The designers have campaigned for their designs, the public has voted for their favorites, and now it’s time for the final review!

Here are the judging some criteria:

1. Rated PG-13 - These images will appear will be sold retail organizations and available to all non-profit organizations, which means that little eyes will see them

2. Imagery - The cornerstone of any great design is visual impact, right?

3. One-Liner - Funny, inspirational, witty, ironic and sexy?

Here are my favorites so far. Thoughts? Feelings? Reflections? Let’s hear them.