My Addiction - And (Finally) 'The Hunger Games' Giveaway

I have always been a reader. More specifically, I have always been a big reader of 'sets'.

First it was Babysitters Club books, and then it was Sweet Valley High books. By the time I'd reached highschool, I was reading (albeit sneakily) Virginia Andrews books (Flowers in The Attic etc.) - and in all honesty, that probably cemented me in my deep seated love for trashy novels. I still like actual REAL, honest to goodness literature too, but I will always have a soft spot for 'easy reading'. Like many books, a television of film version often finds its way to our screens. I also enjoyed the TV series and movies of each of those sets. When I'd made my way through all of the Virginia Andrews books, I spent a few years trying to find something that fit the mould. Bryce Courtney saw me through a few of those years.

I wasn't reading for pleasure as much in my University years, and it was only when 'Twilight' was released that I found my way back to my old trust 'book sets' again. Throw stones all you want. Twilight got me reading again. (Twilight and some other GENUINE books). I resisted at first, because I just didn't think the whole 'vampire thing' would be for me... but it turns out I was wrong. I was addicted. I also am addicted to the movie versions of the books. Go on and laugh. Sometime sI shake my head at myself, but it's a fact. They are my favourite 'sick day' and 'rainy day' movies. (And lets face it, I AM the target audience of desperate housewife). After Twilight I then lunged straight into the True Blood series (mostly because I love the television series, and needed a 'fix' in order to see what might happen in future storylines), and truth be known, I want those hours of my life back. The books are NOTHING like the show. If anyone thinks Twilight is terrible reading, I don't recommend getting your claws anywhere near True Blood (The Sookie Stackhouse books). After Twilight I got into more serious reading; no 'sets' as such, just good, solid novels. 

CP is also a reader. Early in our marriage I discovered his extensive stash of Wilbor Smith, Jeffrey Archer and John Grisham books. They kept me busy for quite some time too, but left me hungry for something a little more 'feminine'.

I started a book club in our little town and once a month a group of awesome ladies would get together to discuss books. I was deeply ingrained in my passion for reading.  I found my way into Dan Brown, Kate Morton, Jodi Picoult, and Ken Follett, Harry Potter and the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series.

I am also a fan of (and am almost ashamed to admit I like) '50 Shades of Grey' (again, I am the target demographic).  I am currently making my way through the 'Game of Thrones' (A Song of Ice and Fire) box set. I am a fan of the series, and wanted to get myself engrossed in the books. It's heavy reading, but I am sure it will be worth it.

More recently I finished reading one of the latest literary phenomenom making its way around the world.

I'm talking about The Hunger Games. It took me a whole three days to go from go to whoa. There are three books in the series. 1. The Hunger Games 2. Catching Fire and 3. The Mockingjay. They are really written for a teenage audience, but I really loved them. The 'Hunger Games' movie was released in cinemas the week I started reading them, but I have always been a fan of reading the book first whenever I can. And so when Roadshow Entertainment contacted me about running a giveaway for 'The Hunger Games' DVD, I jumped at the chance! The movie is every bit as good as the book.

For your chance to win one of 3 copies of the DVD, all you need to do is pop over to my facebook page (or at the bottom of this page if it is more convenient) and leave a comment stating what your favourite book/movie combo is, and why. No word limit.

Winners will be selected randomly. The judges decision is final. Competition closes 21st August at 5pm EST. Australian and New Zealand entrants only please. Winners will be contacted by me directly.

The Hunger Games is available to own on DVD and Blu-Ray 17th August 2012.

* Amended 3 hours after posting. COMPETITION CLOSED!

Big Day Out

As I had made an executive decision not to go on an 'official' holiday this school break, I thought it would be a good idea to take the kids away from the house for a day or so to at least help them feel like they were on 'holidays'.

I won't be in a hurry to do that again. They were monsters.

Monster 1

Monster 2

Monster 3

I had Sara (our au pair at the time) with me, and we took the children to McDonalds for dinner. This is a real treat for them - they rarely get to eat McDonalds. And also a real treat for us - they run themselves ragged in the play area while we use the free internet acess for the duration.

Except that it's never that simple. Sam takes the entry to the play area as his cue to have 'quiet toilet time'. And the copious amounts of sugar in McDonalds food is bound to catch up to my children sooner or later. Mostly sooner I think...

After all 3 children are bathed and ready for bed (we were staying in a motel overnight), Sam starts with the 'I want to go home and sleep in my own bed' shenanigans. Then the bed swapping begins. The fights over pillows. The snoring. The crying. After 3 hours of sleep, we all woke up.

That morning we thought we'd take in the earliest session of 'Cars 2' while the kids were at their most fresh. I plied them with sugary drinks and popcorn and lollies in a desperate bid to get all three to sit, simultaneously, for a two hour period. Big mistake. Lucky for us, there were only two other people in the whole cinema, so there were no actual complaints. I had hoped to fit in a little nap during the movie - to make up for the poor night's sleep.

This is how the movie panned out for me.

1. Cute pre-movie on Toy Story : managed to hold attention of all 3 children. Even Sara and I laughed.

2. Cars 2 begins : Sam gets all excited about seeing his favourite characters up on the big screen and shouts loudly and inappropriately at anyone who will listen.

3. Cars go to Japan : missed major part of storyline whilst trying to mop up slushie that Sam has spilled on his chair. Manage to tip over half a box of popcorn in the process. Cursing under breath begins. Olivia needs to go to the toilet.

4. Cars go to Paris : Darcy needs to go to toilet. Olivia wants to change seats. More popcorn is spilled. This time in the aisle.

5. Cars go to Monaco : Olivia wants to go back to the toilet. Darcy and Sam are fighting over who had the most lollies. Sam can't find his drink. Crying begins. In an attempt to quiet my noisy children, I move Darcy up to the back row and force her to sit on my lap. Sam is moved next to Sara, 2 rows in front of us, and Olivia is sitting on her own one row behind the only other people in the cinema - probably kicking their chairs. I can only hope they'll scream at her for it and save me the pleasure.

6. Cars go to London : Olivia moves one row back and Sam accuses her of trying to steal his drink. Another fight begins. Darcy shouts that she didn't get much popcorn and due to the intensity of her cries, I remove her from the cinema and give her a big dressing down in the hallway. We arrive back inside the cinema just as the Cars go to London.

7. Just as the climax of the story is building intensely, Darcy needs to go to the toilet again.

8. Darcy starts to ask me what is happening in the movie. I spend 5 minutes saying 'sssshhhhh', thereby missing the main part of the movie.

9. Deciding that I have missed what this movie is all about anyway, I start picking up the 3 boxes of popcorn my children have scattered around the cinema. I check where Sam spilled his slushie, and thankfully it has dried.

10. As the credits are rolling, I am holding two children, one under each arm, and Sara is dragging the third with her. I shove all three into their car seats, vowing and declaring NEVER to take them to a cinema ever again.

And this whole experience comes with the jolly old price tag of $75. Grrrrr.

I suppose some kids - and by that I mean MY KIDS - are just solely outside kids. Next time I will take them to paint ball or something where they can take their frustrations out on each other, except it will all be in the name of the sport!

One thing is certain. I won't be taking my monsters back to the cinema in a hurry. Even if they are cute little monsters...