Blog Hop – Carrie Ann Ryan’s Birthday

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Hi Everyone. Thank you for joining the blog hop! 

What are we celebrating and why? It’s Carrie Ann’s birthday and she wanted to celebrate big this year. We thought a 60-author hop would be just the thing. And guess what is even better? Instead of giving gifts to Carrie Ann, we’re giving gifts to you!

First a little birthday story

When my son turned eight, he asked for a Pirates of the Caribbean themed party, just the family. So I  went to QFC and ordered the Pirates of the Caribbean cake, streamers, table cloth, plates, cups, napkins, etc. We then bought gifts and wrapped them in Pirates of the Caribbean wrapping paper.

On the grand day, I decorated the dining room, set the table, and prepared his favorite meal. Dinner went well, then we brought in the cake. His little eyes sparkled seeing Captain Jack and Will standing on the Black Pearl. He made a wish and blew out the candles. So far so good. Then the worst happened–my husband knocked over a bottle of pop and it fell on the cake. Mind you, it was only the corner of the cake. The cake I was about to cut so we could eat it. My son freaked!

He was like a child possessed. He cried and said my husband had ruined everything, then he ran upstairs to his room. We all just stared at each other dumbfounded. After a while, I served the cake and we ate while the little one got over himself alone in his room. Eventually, the birthday boy came back downstairs and rejoined us. Even now, many years later, he still says his father smashed his birthday cake 🙂

What’s your worst birthday story?

The Grand Prizes

As part of the tour, the authors pooled money to offer not one, but two grand prizes to our readers. These grand prizes are tour-wide so be sure to check the linky list at the bottom of this post and hop to the other blogs for more chances to win.

First Grand Prize:  a Kindle Touch
Second Grand Prize: a $60 Amazon or Barnes & Noble giftcard

What do you need to do? Simply comment on the blog and leave your email address so Carrie Ann can contact you if you win. Contest ends at 11:59PM Eastern Time April 6, 2012.

My Giveaway

So today (and tomorrow–the hop is April 5 & 6), we have two giveaways. My gift to a lucky participant is a wonderful thong bookmark designed and handmade by Betty’s Rubble Hand Made Creations.  Here’s a picture of it:

To enter, fill out the rafflecopter form. Perform the other tasks to get additional entries and more chances to win. Very simple. Open to International participants. Contest ends at 11:59PM Eastern Time April 6, 2012.


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More Fun

Visit these blogs for more chances to win!

Deadly Obsession

While you’re here, let me tell you about my books! Deadly Obsession is the first in the Deadly Vices series. Here’s a very short blurb:

Nic Lamoureux’s perfect movie star life is shattered by a stalker who threatens any woman close to him. When he meets photographer Lauren James, the attraction is instant—and mutual. She’s exactly the sort of woman he craves, but the stalker makes deadly clear Lauren is the competition. And the competition must be eliminated.

Deadly Obsession is available in print and/or e-book format at the following retailers: Amazon ebook & print, Amazon UK, B&N, Smashwords, All Romance eBooks, Kobo, iTunes USA, Diesel, Sony eBookstore 

Deadly Addiction, the second book in the Deadly Vices series is due to be released the week of April 23rd. Yay! Here’s the short blurb:

When Rémi Whitedeer and Alyssa Morgan uncover a drug-fueled scheme on the Blackriver Reserve—a scheme involving a biker gang from Alyssa’s past and a militant sovereigntist group led by Rémi’s cousin—Rémi must choose between loyalty to family and tribe or his growing love for Alyssa. Will Rémi and Alyssa have to leave everything behind—even their very identities—for the chance at a future together?  

Deadly Addiction will be available the week of April 23rd.

Thank you for visiting and participating in the Birthday Blog Hop! 
~Kristine

66 Responses

    • Kristine Cayne
      |

      Oh my goodness, Rhonda! That certainly "takes the cake" as far as bad birthday's go. I don't know when this was, but I hope you had no lasting injuries. Thank you so much for stopping by and entering our giveaways. Good luck!

  2. savannah
    |

    I don't have a worst birthday story.
    I do have a 4 yeah old and a 1 year old and I love doing birthday themes for them! Last year we did sponge bob I hung streamers in the door ways to look like sea weed and we blew up balloons and stuck streams on them and hung them on the ceiling in the bathroom and put out a sign that said beware jelly fish fields. My kids loved it 🙂 We just do family too but my close family consists of about 40 people so even a small family party is big for me 🙁 its okay besides spending money to feed everyone

    brandon_savannah@yahoo.com

    • Kristine Cayne
      |

      Sea weed and jelly fish fields – what fabulous ideas! I'm sure your kids were thrilled. My family lives far away so our birthday parties are usually pretty small. With 40 or so guests, you certainly don't need to go beyond the family 🙂 Thank you for stopping by and participating in the blog hop. Good luck!

  3. bas1chs
    |

    Luckily my worst birthday wasn't like your son's but I did have a little crying fit because my mother had brought cake to my afterschool program and a gift for me. She also brought my boombox (it was the 80s LOL). I opened my present and it was a cassette of the Back to the Future soundtrack. Of course we all wanted to hear it. After listening to the first song three times and rewinding it to listen a fourth time, the boombox proceeded to eat my tape! OMG you would have thought someone had killed my dog. Mom got the cassette out and started reeling the cassette back up and played it again for me. I still have the cassette – although it hasn't been played in well over 15 years…
    bas1chsemail at gmail dot com

    • Kristine Cayne
      |

      Oh dear! I can imagine the chaos when the boombox ate the tape! Yay for moms with quick fingers always ready to save the day 😀 Thank you for stopping by and commenting. Good luck with the contest!

  4. Julee J. Adams
    |

    Great story–not so much when it happened, but now.
    For my 16th birthday (long time ago), my parents decided to throw a "surprise" party for me down at the Elks Club in our small town. They asked about a half dozen girls from my high school class–some friends and some not so much, so it was a little awkward. On the good side, Mom bought a TV for me, a really significant gift in those days (it was black & white, but Mom joked it was "color" because it was purple!). So, it wasn't a bad birthday, just really weird. Thanks for sharing!

    • Kristine Cayne
      |

      Julee – I can totally sympathize. Surprise parties can be great fun when your parents know who to invite, LOL. When they don't? Very uncomfortable. But whoo-hoo for the TV and a purple one at that! Thank you for stopping by and sharing 🙂 BTW, please let me know your email address. Carrie Ann needs it for the grand prizes.

    • Kristine Cayne
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      You are so very lucky, Midu! It's so incredibly difficult to pull off a really good party, especially with young or teenage children due to the mix of high emotions and expectations. Kudos to your mama for doing it so well!

  6. Shadow
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    My 16 birthday was my worst birthday. My parents threw me a surprise party and invited a bunch of my family. My uncle from my dads side slept with my aunt from my moms side. Oh, and my uncle was married (and his wife was there, she ended up leaving him at our house). Everyone got drunk and there was fighting. People were asked to leave. Half the family that was there, are racist, and i have a black aunt and she has a baby. So there was tension there. Those people didnt stay very long. Then my grandma was fighting with my grandpa (there exs) and his new wife hates my grandma. There were barbs thrown back and forth. In truth, the party turned out hellish. It was a sweet thought, but wasnt fun. Us kids, my cousin and siblings, we ended up leaving and went walking. We played at the playground for awhile. Thank you!
    shadowluvs2read(at)gmail(dot)com

    • Kristine Cayne
      |

      OMG – Shadow! What a story. You could so turn this into a book. Can you laugh about it now? I hope you've had many fabulous birthdays since then. Good luck with the contest!

    • Shadow
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      If i could write, id be tempted to publish a book, though i think my family might hunt me down afterward. lol And yeah, i can laugh about it now. I have quite had another family get together like that since. It was entertaining. Something i can definitely laugh at. When my family does get together (which doesnt happen very often) the room is 'cold' if you know what i mean. Theres a lot of tension and under currents. I like to sit back and watch the fireworks. 😀

    • Kristine Cayne
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      Good for you, Shadow! I'm glad you can see the lighter side of these very tense situations. The problem, as I'm sure you know, is that we don't pick our families so they aren't always people we click with. But hey, they're family. Gotta love 'em 😀

  7. thebookkeeper
    |

    My worse birthday was my 13th birthday. It was a horrible day. My mom forgot my birthday, or at least I think she forgot because she never said happy birthday. I didn't saw my father that day neither. I had to do a project for school and I needed the materials but my mom didn't have the money to give it to me, so I got mad about that. I was kind of a nerd. I didn't like not bringing my work to school. Then, my mom yelled at me, because she was mad that almost everyday we had to buy something for school. Is not like it was my fault. So that was my morning. Trying to think what I was going to do about my homework.
    By 11:am my grandmother came to see me, to say happy birthday. Then I started crying because she was the only one who remembered. She gave me my birthday give, it was money and I was able to buy the supplies I needed for my project. I finish it just in time to take to school at 2:pm (Dominican Republic only have 4 hours of classes, 8-12 in the morning for some kids and 2-5 for others). by 3:30 when I went to take the recess with the other kids my friends decided to throw water on me. It is a Dominican tradition to throw water on the birthday person. But I was already having a bad day and I had to take the rest of my classes with a wet uniform on.
    When I got home my mom was mad because my uniform was wet. I had to put it behind our refrigerator so it will dry for next day.
    Then my aunt came home from her school. She used to go to college, and because it was so far from home she had to leave at 5:am and came home at 6:pm. She got a give for me. It was a beautiful hand made bracelet she bought in the capital. That give totally made my day much better. I never wanted to take the thing off.

    • Kristine Cayne
      |

      Wow, I can imagine how upset you must have been when nothing was going your way on YOUR special day! At least your aunt came through with a save at the end 😀 Thank you so much for sharing your story with us and for participating in the blog hop. Good luck!

  8. Sherry
    |

    The worst thing that happened to me on or around my birthday was my uncle dying and his funeral was on my B-day. For the most part my birthdays were pretty boring.
    sstrode at scrtc dot com

  10. Z
    |

    Well I already told the worst oin another blog stop so I'll just say most have been a bit sad because my dh almost was always deployed on my birthday. Now he is retired so we'll see how this next birthday plays out.
    Z
    Seawitch Reviews @ yahoo.com

  12. Mel B
    |

    I can't say that I have had a worst birthday. Some were better than others, but nothing bad or anything that would ruin it. I usually work on my birthday as it is in middle of the school year, so the kids usually do something for me.
    Mel
    bournmelissa at hotmail dot com

    • Kristine Cayne
      |

      Mel – good for you for having raised children who will organize a party for you! I barely get an acknowledgement from mine, LOL. Thank you for commenting and good luck!

  13. DiDi
    |

    I can't say I've had a birthday I'd consider the worst. On my 16th birthday, I was never even home. Participating on this academy that was part fun and part miserable.

    But perhaps the one with the most potential is when I went rollerskating for my 11th birthday. I didn't know the first thing about skating but I thought if I went enough times, surely I'd learn. But then I lost my balance and landed in a way that I pretty much kicked my tailbone with my skate. I was aching the rests of the day.

    mangastarlet@aol.com

    • Kristine Cayne
      |

      A bruised tailbone could certainly put a damper on an otherwise good birthday! I remember going rollerskating as a kid. I loved the people and the music. It was great fun even though I never managed to learn any of the tricks 🙂 Thank you for stopping by!

    • Kristine Cayne
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      It's so nice to hear from people who haven't had bad birthdays! I hope that all your birthdays will continue to be wonderful, Becky. Thank you for stopping by and commenting 🙂

  17. Kay
    |

    Such a pretty bookmark! My worst birthday was when no one remembered and I spent it alone. 🙁

    Thank you for the opportunity! 🙂

    sumopalk (at) gmail (dot) com

    • Kristine Cayne
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      Kay – thank you! I'm so glad you like the bookmark. I was shopping online and fell in love with it when I saw it. Spending your birthday alone is truly sad. It's happened to me a few times as well. I hope that all your future birthdays will be fantastic! Good luck with the contest 🙂

  19. Kassandra
    |

    Worst birthday ever for me was the one we spent in the ER with my oldest. She is special needs and was stuck in the mouthing stage (still is actually) even though she was 4 years old. She had somehow gotten ahold of a wire hanger and had sliced open the inside of her mouth! Everything turned out ok, it finally stopped bleeding once we were at the ER for a couple of hours. Needless to say we no longer own any wire hangers.

    sionedkla@gmail.com

    • Kristine Cayne
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      Kassandra – wow. Thank goodness your daughter was okay. I think there is a special place in heaven for parents of special needs children. I hope all your birthdays have been fabulous since then and that they keep getting better with each year 🙂 Thank you for commenting and good luck with the giveaways!

  20. Susan W.
    |

    Birthdays were never a big thing, more about dinner with family. I have only one good birthday memory but no "bad" birthday memories. Unless you count my husband never acknowledging the day! Thanks for the giveaway!
    suz2@cox.net

    • Kristine Cayne
      |

      Susan – I think your husband not acknowledging the day is pretty bad! My birthdays tend to be very small occasions now as well, but at least no big disasters 🙂 Good luck with the giveaways!

  21. VanillaOrchids
    |

    My worst was when I was a teen and my older sister came to the house to go out to luck with the family and when she found out it was our birthday (my twin and myself) she got PO'd and left because she'd forgotten it was our birthday.

    Thank you for the giveaway opportunity!

    Pam
    vanillaorchids69(at)gmail(dot)com

    • Kristine Cayne
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      Yes, I can imagine that you and your twin must have been very upset! I hope that you've had better birthdays since them 🙂 Thank you for sharing and participating in the giveaway!

  22. Catherine Lee
    |

    I have very few birthday memories. The most vivid was my 36th–which was 10 days before I went into the hospital for a bone marrow transplant for leukemia. It was very surreal…very contemplative. I wondered if it would be my last. That was 14 years ago!

    The bookmark is GORGEOUS.
    catherinelee100 at gmail dot com

    • Kristine Cayne
      |

      Yay for being a survivor! That must have been a very difficult birthday, but you made it through. I can't even imagine how strange and bewildering it must have felt at the time. No one likes to think in those terms. Regarding the bookmark, I thought it looked good when I saw a photo of it, but I was thrilled when I received it. I'm quite certain whoever wins it will love it. Good luck!

  23. June M.
    |

    Well, my 21st birthday was kind of a let down. A couple of months before it, I had a blood clot, so I spent my 21st birthday on blood thinners and minimal movement by doctor's orders. It could have been worse though.
    June
    manning_j2004 at yahoo dot com

    • Kristine Cayne
      |

      Hi June – yes it could have been worse, but being on blood thinners and only allowed minimal movement must have put a huge damper on your 21st birthday! I hope the following ones have been much better. Good luck with the giveaways!

    • Kristine Cayne
      |

      Aw, I'm so sorry to hear that, Sue 🙁 Truly a mother's worst nightmare. I can only hope that with each year, things get a little better. Thank you for stopping by and sharing. Good luck with the giveaway!

  25. Anne
    |

    My birthdays were so low key as a child (and adult)that I have no real highs or lows. Truthfully, I can't really remember any.

    acm05atjuno.com

    • Kristine Cayne
      |

      Anne, I guess low key with no real highs or lows is better than horrible disasters 🙂 Hoping each birthday from here on out is pleasant for you! Good luck with the giveaway.

  26. joye
    |

    I think the worst birthday was when I was 7 or 8 and we were scheduled to go to the beach and it rained and rained.
    JWIsley(at)aol(dot)com

    • Kristine Cayne
      |

      Hi Joye – yes, I can see how that would be so disappointing. You build the whole event up in your head and imagine all the fun you'll have, and then… nothing. I hope you've had many wonderful birthdays since then. Good luck with the contest!

  27. Linda Henderson
    |

    One year I made a birthday cake for my brother and it was so lopsided that you couldn't stack the layers. I never tried baking a cake from scratch again. Cake mixes for me, or better yet, bakery cakes.

    seriousreader at live dot com

  28. Unknown
    |

    My worst birthday would have to be my 9th. My parents didn't celebrate my birthday, but at least they usually acknowledged it. However, on my 9th birthday, I'd spent the night before at my aunt and uncle's and when they brought me home, my parents didn't acknowledge my birthday at all – they basically ignored me the whole day. I remember feeling particularly miserable that day. I was the oldest of 5 kids, and the other kids got birthday cakes at least, but not I! Sheesh. I was a sad kid.

    Thank you so much for participating in this hop and for the amazing giveaway chance! The book thong is just lovely!

    GFC follower robertsongena
    email sub robertsongena
    Linky follower Gena Robertson

    Gena Robertson
    robertsongena@hotmail.com

    • Kristine Cayne
      |

      Hi Gena – I'm so surprised to hear how many people don't celebrate birthdays. It's particularly hard on children who's friends and, in your case, siblings are celebrated. That must have been a very difficult day for you. I hope you've had many happy birthdays since then. Thank you for the compliment on the bookmark – good luck!

  29. jessica
    |

    I haven't really had a worst birthday. I try to make the most of all my birthdays. Even the ones lately where nothing goes as planned. .
    jessangil at gmail dot com

    • Kristine Cayne
      |

      You have an a amazing attitude, Jessica. That's what we should all try to do – make the most of all our birthdays. If things don't go as planned, we need to change or plans 😀 Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting. Best of luck with the giveaway!

  30. Nay Nay
    |

    My worst birthday was my 50th. I lost my mom 2 months before that to cancer.
    Thanks for being part of the hop and for the chance to win such a fantastic prize! <^_^>

    reneebennett35(at)yahoo(dot)com

    • Kristine Cayne
      |

      Nay Nay, that had to be a very difficult birthday. I hope that your birthdays get a little better with each year. Thank you for stopping by and for your compliments on the prize. I wish you good luck!

  31. BookAttict
    |

    I really don't have a "worst" story — I've had a lot of really awesome birthdays! lol Big family parties, surprise parties and cool surprise vacations…

    elizabeth @ bookattict . com

    • Kristine Cayne
      |

      Elizabeth – you are one lucky lady! I hope with all my heart that all of your birthdays to come be at least as wonderful as those you've already had 😀 Good luck with the contest!

    • Kristine Cayne
      |

      Hi Nikki, there are definitely some birthdays that hit us more than others. For some reason, one that really hit me hard was my 25th. It was so long ago that now I have no idea why I suddenly felt old them 😀 Thank you for stopping by and commenting!

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