Ultimate Blog Party 2012 - $100 Amazon Giveaway

Welcome to Tales from the Motherhood and Confessions of a Former Childhood Actress . . .

This is my third year participating in the Ultimate Blog Party so I finally feel like I know what I'm supposed to wear.

Let's cut to the chase virtual people . . .

If you don't really give a rip about me or my blog or my dirty minivan and just want a prize, then scroll down and see how easy it is for you to win $100 gift card to Amazon and a copy of my book Totally Desperate Mom: Keepin' it Real in the Motherhood.

But if you really like to virtual party and read blogs then allow me to introduce myself . . .

I am Wendy Hagen and wife to Shiloh for almost 14 years and am mom to Elijah (8), Lydia (5 1/2), and Jordis (3 1/2).



This is my headshot I use for my author/speaking stuff.



This is what I look like when I'm cleaning my house. See the resemblance? Me neither.

Before I was married with children and was able to jump rope without pee leaking out, I was child/teen actress Wendy Cox. How did I get into acting? When I was nine years old I decided it was time to get my acting career started so unbeknownst to my parents I looked in the yellow pages, found a talent agency, and left them a message on their answering machine. And there began my acting career which started with print jobs and commercials in the San Francisco area and led me to Hollywood within a few years. When I was fourteen I landed the role of Megan on the syndicated series The New Lassie which lasted for 48 episodes and two seasons. I also appeared on Circus of the Stars and made guest appearances on Growing Pains and The Wonder Years. On Wednesdays I blog about my experiences in Hollywood. I have no criminal record and never went clubbin' with my mom or yours. 

Here is the a clip from the episode of The Wonder Years I guest starred on back in 1992:

That same crazy personality that led me to Hollywood also drove me to write a book of encouragement and humor for moms with young children while I had three children under the age of five. I self-published Totally Desperate Mom in 2010 and ordered 5000 copies. If you know anything about average books sales - that's a lot. Yet another crazy move. If you want to to know more about my self-publishing journey you can read this blog post. I still have a few thousand books to go, but I am determined to sell them - even if I have to use the yellow pages to do it. You can read chapter 1 here and then decide if you would like to help me clear some more out of my garage. Email me at wendy at wendy hagen dot net and tell me you are a virtual partier and I will give you free shipping.

Besides Hollywood, I usually blog about honest, raw, hilarious, gross, classic stuff from my life and the motherhood. You'll probably leave feeling better about yourself. And if you think you don't have room for more blogs in your life you might just want to check in here around Christmas time. Cuz that's when I post my family's worst photos of the year. I mean, who doesn't enjoy feeling better about themselves by seeing OPU (Other People's Ugly)? 

In May Shiloh and I will celebrate 14 years of marriage. I like him and am passionate about healthy marriages . . . and Persian food, Settlers of Catan, good hot chocolate, fitness and health, UCLA sports, and So You Think You Can Dance?

I'm mostly a stay-at-home mom who gets buried in laundry and tries to feed her family healthy meals on a regular basis. But on the side I travel around the country a bit and speak at women's retreats, conferences, MOPS groups, and other women's events. You can check my schedule out on my website and see if I'm gonna be at a church near you. Oh yeah, and sometimes I break dance. 

Here's a clip of my teaching on Simplicity that brings out my serious side. Yes, I do have one. If you have 8 minutes, it's a really cool story about how God has provided for us in our financial struggle.

My condolences if you made it through that long post. Or congratulations on mad scrolling skills that skipped it all and brought you to the prize section. 

Here is how to win a $100 gift card to Amazon.

1. Leave a comment. Any ol' comment will do. But I would love to hear if we have anything in common or a random fact about yourself and a link to your blog. Make sure I have a way to contact you if you are a winnner.

2. Follow via Google Friends Connect. Don't be ashamed. Then leave a comment letting me know you did and that you were not ashamed.

3. Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a comment letting me know you did. And just so you know, chances are good that I won't automatically follow you back. Here's why. Nothing personal.

4. Become a fan/liker of Totally Desperate Mom on facebook. Then leave a comment letting me know you did. Don't worry I won't clutter up your facebook page with a bunch of lame status updates. Only a few here and there. But I promise you - they will be lame.

*If after a month if this blog bores you, or you actually never read it, or my tweets bug - feel free to drop kick me in a month. I don't want to force you to be in this relationship under prize-induced duress.

Get your entries in by April 20th by 9pm PST. I will announce the winner on April 23rd or sooner.

Head on over to 5 Minutes for Mom to further participate in this virtual partying!