"Blue..." is Two! Birthday Contest

Image courtesy of Clker.com

I can't believe that it's June already -- is this year flying by or what?  Around our house, June means birthday time!  Not only is it my birthday later this month, it is also my husband's, my mother-in-law's, and my brother-in-law's.  It is also the birthday of Blue Sky, Big Dreams!  I launched this blog almost two years ago, on June 17, 2011.  Yes, it's true; "Blue..." is two.

Since that first day, I've shared 657 posts (including this one!) with you, my fellow BookWyrms.  This blog now gets around 3000 hits per month, more than triple the amount from a year ago!  (In a post from last year's birthday celebration, I wrote that I could only dream about having 1500 visitors to the blog in a single month.  See... dreams really do come true!)

I still don't get very many comments here or on my Blue Sky, Big Dreams Blog Facebook page the way I would like to -- if you don't count all the spam, that is!  (That's what I get for allowing anonymous comments, I guess, but I still stand by that decision.)  I'm not really sure how to increase the number of real (not spam) comments, but please know that I always LOVE to hear from my readers.  Feel free to comment any time!

Last year's Birthday Contest was a big success and a lot of fun!  I want to celebrate this blog's second birthday with some more fun and another contest.  How about you? :)

Throughout the month of June, I will be collecting the names of my blog readers and putting them in this bowl:

Like last year, some of your names are already there!*

Every Friday I will draw one name from the bowl.  The lucky winner each week will receive a $10 e-gift card from Barnes & Noble (which can be used online or at an actual store). Then, on the 30th, I will draw one last name.  (Edited on June 27th: When I originally posted this, I had no idea that our family will be going out of town on the 29th.  I will not have internet access for a week, so have decided to change to final drawing to July 8th, when I'll be back home.)  The "Blue..." is Two! Birthday Contest winner will also receive an e-gift card.  In addition, he or she will receive one of my favorite books -- perfect for BookWyrms like us -- BookSpeak!: Poems About Books, written by Laura Purdie Salas and illustrated by Josee Bisaillon.

(To learn more about this wonderful book, 

please see what I wrote about it in this post.)

You may be wondering: How do I get my name in that bowl?  It's really not too hard to enter this contest.  I will write your name on a piece of paper and drop it in the bowl whenever you do any of the following:

1. Become an "official" follower of this blog
2. "Like" the Blue Sky, Big Dreams Facebook page
3. Post a comment on the blog (Please see my note about comments here.)  If you don't have a blog of your own, Blogger will let you post anonymously -- just be sure to sign your name at the end of your comment so that I'll know who to make an entry for!
4. "Like" a post on my blog's Facebook page
5. Post a comment on my blog's Facebook page (Please follow the same courtesies in the note mentioned above.)
6. Share a link to this blog or the blog's FB page on your own blog or on Facebook, encouraging others to check it out (Be sure to let me know you've shared it, so I can write your name down.)
7. Share any of the links to this blog that I post on the FB page (Again, please let me know you've done so.)  I often share links to other blogs or book-related pictures that I like.  Please feel free to share those, also, but doing so will not earn you an extra entry.
8. Also, if any of your friends/blog readers check out this blog or its FB page, and lets me know that you referred him/her to the site, I will enter both of your names twice.

*Those who are currently followers of this blog already have three entries each in my vase.  The same goes for those who have already liked my FB page.  I appreciate your support over the past two years VERY much! 

Thank you all for visiting Blue Sky, Big Dreams and helping me celebrate its second birthday! :)