IMPORTANT! Change of Blog Name

Hi All,

It's been a really long time... As you all notice, I cannot update my blog much often; I kinda miss the good old days when I was an active blogger. For almost 1.5 years, I have somehow neglected my blog due to my busy schedule. Lots of things happened during this period. I got married last year, I'm working more, I'm trying to establish my own translation company soon (which is one of my dreams), also we started to record our debut album with my band, etc. But I had one more dream, which was to buy my own domain. And I achieved it finally! Sweepstake Lover is "WorldWidely Things" anymore :) As the concept of my blog is international things, I think no name would be better than that :) I hope you love it and keep following me. I'm planning to be back!

Loves,
Damla

Home Sweet Home with Beddinginn :)

After purchasing all the required items and fixtures (furniture, etc.), decorating your home is a very tough but enjoyable process especially if you are getting married and if it's your new home. You think of a concept and want to apply it throughout your warm nest. You love your home and make it a lovely place to live. To give an example, you buy beautiful bedding pieces for your bedroom, bath accessories for your bathroom and even intimate clothing to make yourself look sexier for your beloved one. Don't forget that you are the master part of that nest ;)

You don't know yet, but surprise surprise! I'm getting married very soon :) You must have noticed that I haven't been able to write a lot recently as I'm in a crazily busy period with all the preparations for marriage. I purchased many things and will continue to purchase more. I bought bedding sets, blanket, quilt, bed throw, pajamas, night gowns, kitchen utensils, dining sets, cutlery, cooking pots, etc. that I cannot even remember now. Yes, you buy a lot in the pre-wedding period. We have spent approximately $15.000 so far and we have to spend more. So, you need to find the most reasonable and quality items in a trustable company if you don't want to have a huge hole in your budget.

You can also hunt down the sales and discount campaigns. Thanks to such campaigns, you can get fantastic items for very economic prices (like 50% - 80% off). Beddinginn offers such campaigns in their website. For example, you can purchase a 4-piece bedding set for an amazing price like $50.00! And I love their 3D bedding; they are amazing! Also, don't miss the flash sales; they are life savers :) Visit Beddinginn right now and find the most gorgeous items for your living space.

I love these as we are both musicians :)

These are so cute and we love cats very much!

How I Cured My Acne

PocketDerm is a new service which enables you to see a dermatologist online and get a prescription acne medication shipped to your door. Reddit loves it. Get your first month FREE!

A Woman Unknown

When we see homeless people it is easy to forget that they once had normal lives, loves and dreams. This video by the singer songwriter Nemo James tells the story of one woman's path to homelessness and reminds us that there but for the grace of God go I. Nemo James has been writing songs for many years and had a highly acclaimed autobiography published entitled ?Just a Few Seconds?.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT A GIVEAWAY!

I have a giveaway going on at my blog right now where one winner will receive an oil painting from Artisoo: http://sweepstakelover.blogspot.com.tr/2014/05/giveaway-artisoo-oil-painting.html

Normally, in all of my giveaways which are specific to my blog, I pick a winner at the end of the giveaway. This is my true responsibility. The sponsor said in the beginning that they would send one prize to the giveaway host (me), and one prize to the blog winner. However, it turns out that Artisoo didn't state the rules clearly in the beginning.

33 bloggers in total are separately hosting a giveaway for Artisoo in their blogs now. So, there must be 66 prizes to be sent, right? (33 for giveaway hosts and 33 for blog winners). No, they say that only two oil paintings will be sent. They will pick a giveaway host among 33 bloggers, and then this chosen blogger will pick a winner among his/her blog's participants. One prize for the host and one prize for the winner, totalling 2, NOT 66! If they pick me as the winning blogger, then one of you can win a prize from my giveaway. Otherwise, all of your entries will go in vain. I'm really sorry :(

So, if you want to take your chance, you can keep entering this giveaway. Otherwise, you are free to refrain.

UPDATE: I was informed that I was chosen as the blogger winner of that campaign, so one of you will win a prize at the end of the giveaway :)

FEEDBURNER PROBLEM

Is there any problem with Feedburner? I cannot receive any e-mail from almost none of the blogs for a few weeks although I'm subscribed to them. I'm subscribed to too many blogs, I would like to see their posts in my inbox so that I can read later, but I cannot get any e-mail from them. This is very annoying.

By the way, is there any way where I can see all of my blog subscriptions? Thanks for your help.

UPDATE #1: YESTERDAY, I SAID THAT I COULDN'T RECEIVE ANY E-MAILS FROM BLOGS (VIA FEEDBURNER SUBSCRIPTION). I LEARNED THAT IF YOU HAVE A YAHOO E-MAIL ADDRESS, YAHOO HAS BEEN ENTIRELY BLOCKING THESE E-MAILS FOR A WHILE AND THEY CAN'T BE SEEN IN INBOX AT ALL. AND I HAVE A YAHOO ACCOUNT. DAMN!

UPDATE #2: I resubscribed to a few blogs with my Gmail account and they safely reached my Gmail inbox. As I understand, no other e-mail account except Gmail can get these Fedburner e-mails anymore :(

BE CAREFUL ABOUT A CHEATER!

A person named William who is telling that he works for Romwe is trying to deceive people by asking them to create a wishlist on WISH and by offering to send a free item. DON'T BELIEVE IT! I contacted official Romwe, and they said they don't know him and the person was using their brand name.

The cheater's e-mail address: lisasfunny@gmail.com

At the beginning, I believed it and sent my mailing address as I completely trust Romwe name, now I don't know what will happen.

About a Fashion Store!

I was contacted by a fashion store called Foymall and I agreed to put their banner and to make a product review for them on my blog. Although I placed my order with them a very long time ago, they didn't process it and they never reply my e-mails. So, I removed their banner from my blog and I'd like to warn you. I saw that some bloggers received their review packages, but unfortunately I haven't. Actually the worst part is that they ignore my messages. So, if you are contacted by them and if you'd like to conduct a product review for Foymall, please think twice.

My Blog is 4 Years Old! Happy Blogiversary to Me :)

And it was 2 days ago; I forgot it again as always :( Anyway, my blog is growing up day by day with the support of you, my dear readers and friends. Thank you all so much! I will keep updating my blog with personal posts, reviews and wonderful giveaways as long as I can. I hope I can share my many happy moments with you in the future such as reaching success with my band, getting married, having the first baby, etc. I hope you will still be with me at those times. Love you!

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT A GIVEAWAY!

You know that there is a giveaway going on at my blog; this is it: http://sweepstakelover.blogspot.com/2013/12/giveaway-amazing-200-dresses-from.html

Our first giveaway for this company (DressSale) ended a few days ago, and I learned that they put a $200 minimum order condition to use the $30 gift card. They didn't tell me anything about it, so it's called cheating. Neither me nor my winners can use our gift cards, we don't have so much money to buy a piece of thing, and their shipping fee costs a bomb!

So, I decided not to promote this company's giveaway and I will remove their banner from my valuable blog. I also want to cancel their ongoing giveaway if you wish. Actually I don't want to promote DressSale and I don't want to pick a winner for nothing at all. You can even unlike/unfollow their pages if I cancel their giveaway. Please tell me your thoughts; do you want to continue to participate in their giveaway, or do you want me to cancel it?

I'm really sorry for this. I learned that they did the same thing to many bloggers. If I had known this in the beginning, I would have never accepted their giveaway offer. I also learned that they are a scammer; according to the reviews on internet, they send very low-quality products and never refund.

UPDATE: I cancelled the giveaway and informed the company about this. They wanted to offer $30 with a new minimum order, but I refused. This isn't a kid's stuff!

UPDATE #2: This morning, they contacted me again to offer the coupon without any minimum order. Hey, are you kidding me? Of course, I refused it again.

UPDATE #3: They contacted me again asking how to make up this problem for me and for my readers. I told them they must offer the $30 coupon without minimum order and with free worldwide shipping. Of course, they didn't reply after that.

PRODUCT REVIEW OPPORTUNITY

As my computer crashed, I lost all the info of my reviewers team (I need some time to compile them through Google doc), so I'm announcing it right here. If you have an automobile, you can apply.

Item Name: Kulcar Solar-Powered Car Cooler Ventilator
Value: $89.00
Category: Car Accessories

Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA30Z0YU3110&Tpk=Kulcar
Deadline: 2 weeks after you receive the item

* You need to be able to take clear photos of the item; you don't have to expose your face. (You can keep this free product.)

The reviewer can be from anywhere in the world. If you are interested, please send me an e-mail with your blog info (because I need to check your previous reviews). If you don't hear back from me, please assume that another reviewer has been chosen for this opportunity.

Please remember that the review post will be published only on my blog (I will give link to your blog on the post as well). After that, you can promote it in your accounts as well.

E-mail: annabell_lee_dk (at) yahoo (dot) com

I'm Officially 28 :)

And happy birthday to me :) I have a few more white strands anymore :)

Romwe - Talia's Charity Sale Is Online!

Talia and Romwe exclusive designs launched today! At the same time, fund raiser for Talia’s favorite charity started! For each pair of leggings sold, $5 will be donated from Sep 27th to Oct 11th.

We know that Talia is with us forever. Also Romwe will donate to Talia’s favorite charity, BASE Camp Children's Cancer Foundation, to help more children and bring hope home for the children who are fighting child cancer.

Know more about Talia: Her Facebook, Youtube.

Link: http://www.romwe.com/DONATE-FOR-TALIA'S-FAVORITE-CHARITY-c-319.html

#4 I Hate Companies That Don't Send the Items!

This time, there is a bit different situation. A few weeks ago, a person from lymode.com contacted me to conduct product review for them. They offered $50 coupon to me. Although I put their banner on my blog and signed up their website, they never replied me again and didn't send me my coupon. So, I checked their website IP and saw that the same IP belongs to ihandbagsmall.com which is a scammer company (they never sent me my review bag as well)! Can you believe that? I've just sent them a new e-mail explaining the situation and removed their banner on my blog. Does this type of things always have to find me? :(

Romwe Charity Sale of Talia's Design!

Do you know the brave angel Talia Joy Castellano? Have you heard about her story?

Talia earned her wings on July 16th after six and half year battle with childhood cancer. August 18th would have been Talia's 14th birthday.

Talia touched the lives of thousands through social media. Her make up tutorial on Youtube earned her 1,192,000 subscribers and 517,000 fans on Facebook. In addition, she told the story of her fight with cancer through Vlogs in an insightful and inspiring way. During The Ellen Show, she was asked how does she keep her spirits up? Her answer; “What can I do? Be depressed? A little fish once told me, just keep swimming.”

Talia contacted Romwe to join their fashion Vloggers Team this past April. By this chance, Talia and Romwe's design Team, designed special leggings together. Talia said “make up is my wig”, so she suggested some makeup-inspired images to print on the leggings. Lip-print Black-white Leggings, Colorful Lip-print White Leggings, Lipstick Print White Leggings.

But after the leggings arrived, Talia was not able to enjoy them, as she was too sick.

We know that Talia is with us forever, not only with Romwe Team, but also with all Romwers. Also they will donate for Talia’s favorite charity, BASE Camp Children 's Cancer Foundation, to help more children and bring hope home for the children who are fighting child cancer. It will start on September 27th.

#3 I Hate Companies That Don't Send the Items!

A couple of weeks ago, IHandbagsMall contacted me to review one of their handbags and I gladly accepted this offer. First, I put their banner on my blog. They offered me $250 gift card, and then increased this amount to $300. Of course, I was very happy as the handbags on this website are quite expensive. Anyway, I placed my order and it has been more than a month and they haven't sent it yet. I tried to contact them via e-mail and they never replied me regarding the issue with my order. I also couldn't find any other way to contact them such as Facebook or Twitter, so I'm desperate now. I sent them one last e-mail stating that I would remove their banner from my blog and that I would write a blog post about this negative situation. Anf they didn't reply this e-mail, either. Thus, I removed their banner and I'm writing this post right now. I want to warn you against this company. I don't know if you cooperated with them or ordered something from them, but be careful. They have horrible customer relations with no contact information except e-mail. I don't want you to waste your time or your hundreds of dollars for nothing in return.

5 Minutes of Silence // News from My Dear Country Turkey

From my dear country Turkey to my international friends and readers...

10:00 p.m. Republic of Turkey-time; 3:00 p.m. EST in the US (Boston-time); 2:00 p.m. CST (Chicago-time), 1:00 p.m. MST (Denver-time) and 12:00 noon PST (Los Angeles-time)

Our voice, in support of the People of Turkey, is getting stronger each and ever minute. And we ask that TODAY, TUESDAY, JUNE 18th, WHEREVER YOU ARE IN THE WORLD, AND WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING, YOU GO OUTSIDE, AND YOU PLEASE NOT SPEAK, WRITE, TEXT OR COMMUNICATE IN ANY MANNER - IN SHORT, THAT YOU 'GO SILENT' FOR 5 MINUTES. BEGINNING AT THE TIMES MENTIONED ABOVE, HOLDING HANDS IN THE AIR TO FORM THE LETTER "T" - TO REPRESENT OUR WORLDWIDE SUPPORT OF THE PEOPLE OF "TURKEY". We feel strongly that members of the Turkish Government, Turkish Police, and thousands of Turkish people from diverse backgrounds and myriad opinions about true democracy have been in a conflict that is now spiraling out of control. And we need for all of you, for all of us - in fact, for the world - to ask, together, that all sides in the conflict in Turkey get to the negotiation table, immediately.

Please join thousands of us, from the streets and parks of Istanbul, to parks and sidewalks and streets in other parts of the world, to the entrances of Turkish embassies and consulates around the world, for only five minutes today, Tuesday. Please refrain from communicating, via telephone, Skype, email or any form of Internet connection, including Facebook and Twitter - BUT PLEASE TAKE AS MANY STILL PHOTOS, AND AS MUCH FILM FOOTAGE AS YOU CAN. We will be 'going silent' to remind the world that the word 'silent' spelled another way is 'listen' - and that as we remain SILENT, it will be important for the government of Turkey to LISTEN to the voices of the people of Turkey, including innocent people who are being killed or injured during the protests taking place there.

Please, please take part in this momentous event, please record what happens, and please, please, get the word out to many others, as well.

In the HOPE of international solidarity, in order to bring lasting peace to Turkey, we are one.

News From Me

I guess you are all aware that I don't update my blog as much as I used to do. I know that I somehow neglected my blog, but actually I don't feel like and I don't have strength to post new things. In my country Turkey, everything is getting worse and worse. Our dictator never steps back; he actually tries to cause a civil war by his declarations, because there is a division between the poeple; half who support the government and half who are against the government (with of course rightful purpose). People try to resist, but everybody is tired and nobody knows what the next stage will be. We don't want to lose our freedom. I don't know what is reflected to you from your point of view, but things are really bad here :( Police and government try to silence us by all force.

So, both the things going on in my country and also my very busy work schedule keep me from updating my blog. But I will try to do my best to post new things and giveaways as much as I can do and as soon as possible.

Please pray for us, so we can get rid of our dictator Tayyip who is disrespectful towards our Ataturk and who hates his own people.

SOMETHING'S HAPPENING IN MY COUNTRY, TURKEY!!!

THERE ARE A LOT OF INJURIES AND DEATHS RIGHT NOW! THIS IS NOT A SIMPLE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTEST, BUT A FIGHT FOR FREEDOM AGAINST A DICTATOR CALLED RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN!

YOU CAN WATCH THE TERRIBLE EVENTS HERE: http://tks.ibb.gov.tr/noc-player.php?id=17&w=600&h=338
(Edit 1: The government cut the broadcast from there.)

OR HERE: http://rt.com/on-air/turkey-clashes-istanbul-park/

OR HERE: http://sozcu.com.tr/2013/genel/polis-geri-cekilmeye-basladi.html

Dear friends all around the world,

Something brave and significant is happening in Istanbul, Turkey.

A late blooming Occupy wave one might call it.

Citizens tired of a bullying government with its corrupt management of public spaces and reckless abuse of land are coming together to protect a public park in the heart of the Istanbul which is under the threat of being demolished so the 94th shopping mall can be built in its place. People are holding in spite of the brutal attacks by the police (today's attack was at 5am in the morning one shall point out! including tear gas bombs, burning the tents, hospitalizing a person...). It is the 3rd day now, more than 10,000 people have gathered in the park!

Meanwhile, public spaces are being sold to hotels, precious ecosystems are being wasted for more industry, power plants, 3rd bridge over Bosphorus!

This has become a matter about more than just saving trees. This is an 'I can do whatever I damn well want', fascist mentality that not only supresses but attacks its own people.

To make matters worse, media channels are being censored so as not to display the news.

#direngeziparki is now the 2nd worldwide trending topic on Twitter.

Please help us to share this message.

What you can do:

- Forward this message to everyone you know

- Send your support messages through twitter with the #direngeziparki hashtag

- Tag @bbc @cnn @reuters and other large media channels in these posts

- Post this message on facebook

- Let your local and national media channels know

Please help spread the news globally.

We need all the support we can get now.

Alien Cat vs. Skull :P

I was bored and I made these using the playdough that I bought with my boyfriend last weekend :D I cannot say that I'm very talented :P