Congratulations to the following winners of the Max Spaniel Dinosaur Hunt book giveaway:

Sheila from Mom 2 A Nutball won the Grand Prize

• Autographed copy of Max Spaniel (by illustrator David Catrow)
• One (1) Jumbo kids magnifying glass

Lesa from Conveniently Simplistic, Kerrie Mayans, Janet from Grammy Janet’s Place and Chris from The New Dad Guide all won copies of the new Max Spaniel book too.

Congratulations again to all of the winners! I hope you enjoy the book!

No more money in the mattress? Sign up for Never Blue Ads.

©2012 Discovering Dad. All Rights Reserved.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

It’s a kids book about a nosey spaniel on the hunt for bones – Dinosaur Bones! He gets into lots of mischief, and much the same as my younger children he uses his imagination and ingenuity to find and build a larger than life dinosaur.

The illustrations are filled with lots of things for kids to discover while reading, kind of like the old Where’s Waldo books but not quite that busy or difficult.

If your toddlers love books as much as mine, then leave a comment with a description of your favorite pet from any time throughout your life.  Please share why this pet was your favorite and perhaps a memorable experience of him or her hunting for “dinosaurs” of their own.  You can get a second entry by writing a post about your pet on your own blog and linking back to this post.

One (1) Grand Prize winner receives:

• Autographed copy of Max Spaniel (by illustrator David Catrow)
• One (1) Jumbo kids magnifying glass

Four (4) runner-up winners will also receive a copy of the new book

Contest Duration: August 8, 2009 – August 23, 2009

Winners will be announced and notified during the week of August 24 – 30, 2009.

My favorite pet growing up was a dog named Lady.  She was hyper and loving, and she peed on the floor every time I got home.  She slept in bed with me, which my wife is not likely to believe because as an adult I developed a severe onset of allergies to animals and can now barely sleep in the same house as a cat or dog.  Lady was the best though, and she was a surprisingly good hunting dog.  She and I caught some prized chipmunks in our day, and she was better than any old cat at getting rid of field mice that wandered into our home.  Lady was my favorite pet mostly because she was a fun part of our family.

I can’t wait to read about your favorite pet stories!

Leave a comment now or write a post and link back to this page.

No more money in the mattress? Sign up for Never Blue Ads.

©2012 Discovering Dad. All Rights Reserved.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Some say this path will be filled with obstacles and challenges that no one leader could ever overcome; others say that a new era of prosperity and peace will be upon us within the next four years. Either way, things are going to change and it is the result of all of you exercising your right to vote.

The following Discovering Dad readers were randomly selected to win the Pledge to Vote Prize packs from Hachette Books:

Clark
PG
Lee McKusick
Roger
Daniel

All five of you will receive 10 politically-oriented books from Hachette Books USA.

Thanks again for taking the time to pledge and vote! Now, it is important that we all stay engaged and informed as to the new direction Obama decides to take America.

Feel free to share your thoughts about the results of Election 2008!

No more money in the mattress? Sign up for Never Blue Ads.

©2012 Discovering Dad. All Rights Reserved.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

As promised, the Grand Prize winning entry is published below.  Congratulations to Mishi from Secret Agent Mama!!!  The thing I really liked about Mishi’s adventure was that it was about self-discovery, courage and personal transformation.  Here is her story entitled My Greatest Adventure:

I was really still just a kid; a kid that needed to become an adult and just cut those apron strings already. I didn’t realize that by telling my new husband to look for a job anywhere, that he would actually listen. He listened to me, though, and searched for a job. Where else would he look first other than New Orleans? It was the place that I fell in love with him, all over again, after our initial love trip.

The day he told me that he had an interview, on the phone, with a guy in New Orleans for a job, is a day that I won’t ever forget. The butterflies in my stomach danced around so much, so quickly, that I felt nauseous. There was no turning back. I couldn’t take a perfectly good job away from him, especially after he’d been looking for one so diligently. I wasn’t going to be that wife.

And so, it happened; he got the job. I was able to transfer with my job at the portrait studio, too. It was too good to be true. It was perfect. Then [we] had to tell my parents, the apron-wearers. The knot in that apron was so tight, and so binding, that it was a chore to get it undone. Such a chore that scissors made of platinum were needed. Somehow I found the right tool, and I used it.

They were so angry, with such a seething anger, but it had to be done. I had to go grow up. It was time. This was it.

The adventure began. We packed up what little belongings we had—which included the world’s heaviest sectional—in a small U-Haul, packed up our new puppy, Sadie, said our sad-drawn-out-goodbyes, and drove off towards the Big Easy.

I don’t believe, for a minute, that it was easy for me. Quite possibly, for the whole two years we lived there, I cried daily. Phone calls were an emotional roller coaster. I’d be fine the whole day, only to [come] home, to answer the phone, and to be thrown into a pit of guilt and overwhelming sadness. I know I was their only daughter, but, damn it, did the guilt have to be so tragic and crushing.

Daily I would realize, though, that I was flourishing. My mind was becoming its own and I was making decisions for myself. Sure, I had Michael, but I was not relying on anyone else. There were no other eyes peering at me. There was no audience. There was only a new realm where I was in control; I could choose to go certain places without any explanation or any trepidation. I held the reigns. This was my time.

This great adventure set the stage. We’d move back to the place of my birth two times, but ultimately we’d move away thrice. This last time, here, is going to stick. Strangely I am more myself in a place that is other than that of my upbringing. Sometimes I think about why that is so, and I cannot seem to formulate the thought completely. I guess the closest way I can describe it is like this: Growing up I was a caterpillar. Slowly I made it through life under the careful eyes of parental caterpillar units. They tried to keep me safe, tried to keep me from falling prey to those cannibalistic ones, tried to keep me comfortable in my caterpillar skin. But, it wasn’t right. The metamorphosis was inevitable. Somehow, someway, I was destined to fly off with my pulchritudinous wings.

Free.
Destined.
Bold.
Venturous.

Mishi’s Grand Prize includes:

• Complete Box Set Books #1 – #7

• Copy of the 10th Anniversary Edition of ‘Sorcerer’s Stone’

• Collectible Harry Potter Gold Pin

Congratulations also to the 4 First Prize Winners who were randomly selected from the Discovering Dad e-mail subscriber list:

1.  Brillig

2.  WeaselMomma

3.  Julian R.

4.  Eric R.

First Prize Winners all receive:

• Copy of the 10th Anniversary Edition of ‘Sorcerer’s Stone’

• Collectible Harry Potter Gold Pin

Thanks again to all those who entered the contest, as well as our sponsor Scholastic Books.

The next contest on Discovering Dad will be centered around the importance of exercising your right to vote.  Stay tuned for more information to come!

No more money in the mattress? Sign up for Never Blue Ads.

©2012 Discovering Dad. All Rights Reserved.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Unlike my friends who spent the summer before sophomore year working and partying, I shipped off on a summer tour of duty.  I flew with my fellow swabs in the cargo bay of a C130 airplane across the Atlantic to Lisbon, Portugal.  Imagine riding a rickety roller coaster for hours on end and that’s about what the flight was like.

The reason we flew to Lisbon was to board America’s Tall Ship The Eagle.  Little did I know that this trip would be one of the greatest adventures of my entire life.

We spent a few days in Lisbon before setting sail.  So, what do you think a group of 18-year-old cadets did to entertain themselves?  Drink, of course.  After all, we were “legal” over there.  We hit just about every bar in the port area, and I remember karaoke with a group of Russian sailors in the wee hours of the morning.  I even traded hats with one of them, and I’ve still got it tucked away in storage to this day.  We barely made it back in time to shove off, and I had a major hang over for our first day at sea.

The salty air and constant activity helped us to sweat the poison out quickly.  We spent the first few days learning how to do everything on the ship, from swabbing the deck to setting the sails to maneuvering at sea.  We made one stop in the island port of Madeira before embarking on our voyage across the Atlantic to Bermuda.

I had a group of five friends who were more like brothers to me.  We all played on the academy’s football team together, and we quickly developed friendships that I knew would last our entire lives.  The five of us rented a tiny little Yugo-type car in Madeira, and we went exploring.  It was amazing.

We toured a wine factory.  We drove to the top of the island.  We found several quaint restaurants that happened to sell 10 cent beers.  We saw some of the most amazing hot springs and cliffs I’ve seen in my life.  We drove around that entire island, soaking up every bit of culture and excitement (and beer) we could muster.  We had a blast!

It was very cool to have liberty in foreign countries, and most of my fellow cadets and I had never traveled outside of the U.S. prior to this experience.  It was great to meet so many people, and it definitely helped to expand my world view tremendously.

After a few days in port, we set sail for the long trip across the Atlantic through the Bermuda Triangle and eventually arriving in Bermuda for one of the largest Tall Ship shows in the world.

It’s hard to describe the feeling of being at sea on a tall ship for four weeks.  It takes some getting used to.  First, it’s a lot of work sailing a large ship in open seas, and I can only imagine how hard it must have been for explorers and merchants who did this for a living hundreds of years ago.  It’s nothing like going on a luxury cruise.

Every day was filled with duties, and we rotated through things on a weekly basis.  We all spent time working on deck, and we all spent time below deck in the engine room and kitchen.  The first time I climbed up to loosen the very top of the mainsail, I’ll admit I was a little nervous.  It was an amazing sight though, looking out over the vast sea from such a high vantage point.  The wind, smell and view were all unforgettable.

My favorite thing about being at sea was the sunsets.  Watching the sun go down at sea is one the most brilliant and awe inspiring things I’ve had the good fortune to experience.  Rays of light dance across the waves, and just before the sun dips out of sight, a green blast of light shimmers on the horizon.  It is nothing short of incredible.

We did and saw many things at sea that I’ll never forget, including climbing out on the tip of the mast under full sail and feeling the spray of the ocean on my face as we crashed through the waves; 20+ days listing at a 30 degree or more angle; watching hundreds of dolphins chase the ship at unbelievable speeds; countless games of spades and hearts with my friends; and, navigating by the stars like sailors of old must have done for centuries.

One experience about this trip at sea stands out in my mind above all others though.  When we got to be dead center in the Atlantic ocean, the Captain stopped the ship for swim call.  This is a rite of passage for sailors around the world.

Here’s the deal – you can’t weigh anchor in the middle of the ocean because the water is miles deep, so the crew uses the engine to keep the ship in place while people go swimming.  How do you get in the water?  You jump off the side of the ship, which is like jumping off a several story high building.  How do you get out of the water?  You climb up the cargo net draped over the side of the ship.  What protects you from sharks?  Two crew members sit on either end of the ship with machine guns ready to fire.

It was one of the most exciting yet scary things I’ve ever done, especially since I can’t stand being in water that I can’t see the bottom.  Some of my friends swam around for over an hour, as if they were chilling out in a freshwater lake back home.  Me – I jumped in, swam to the cargo net, climbed out and repeated that process about 10 times.  I was not about to stay in the water any longer than I had to, but I did enjoy the thrill of jumping off of the ship into the water.  The only scary part was how deep you would go when you hit the water, and it seemed like an eternity to get back to the surface.

A day or two after we crossed the center of the Atlantic is when we hit some bad weather and rough seas.  I was lucky to be one of the few members of my class not to get sea sick.  Lucky in that it got me duty on the bridge, which was really cool.  I actually volunteered to do night duties with a few of my friends.  The sound of the ship crashing through the sea at night was amazing, and I also volunteered for every opportunity to go aloft for whatever needed to be done.

After about a month at sea, we headed into port at Bermuda.  This was a big deal.  We were representing the United States of America at a major tall ship show where vessels from around the world had come to show off their nation’s pride.  I felt very honored to be one of the cadets chosen to stand on the mast of the top sail as we arrived in port.  What does this mean?  I stood at attention on the mast many stories aloft for nearly two hours as we came into port.  I had never felt so much pride before in my life.  It was like I was flying high above the world, looking down from the heavens.

As I stood up there on that mast, I couldn’t help but think, “This was definitely an adventure of a lifetime!”

I hope my kids get to have an adventure like this one day.  It changed the way I viewed the world, and it gave me a new appreciation for life and freedom.

Have you ever had an amazing adventure in your life?  Write a blog post or leave a comment about it.  All posts and comments will be entered into the Harry Potter Adventure of a Lifetime Contest.

No more money in the mattress? Sign up for Never Blue Ads.

©2012 Discovering Dad. All Rights Reserved.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.