Play Accor Hotels "Around the World" Photo Hunt Game

Through July 23rd, 2010, you are invited to try your hand at winning a 12-Night European Vacation by playing the Around the World Photo Hunt game brought to you by AccorHotels.com . If you are a fan of hidden picture games, then this one might be right up your alley. You need only find the four differences between two photos in each of the 15 rounds.

You can even earn Bonus Points by doing a variety of things, such as sharing your score on Twitter or Facebook, challenging a friend to play, and more.

Not only is it fun, but you can try to be one of the top 10 players, who will be awarded some great prizes . . .

• Grand Prize is a 12-Night European Vacation for two to Barcelona, Paris, and Berlin
• 2nd Place Prize is a Sofitel SoBed Mattress Package
• 3rd Place Prize is a 46" Samsung HD LCD TV
• 4th Place Prize is Panasonic Blu-ray Home Theater System
• 5th Place Prize is a 26" Sharp LCD/DVD Combo TV
• 6th Place Prize is a Bose Wave Music System
• 7th Place Prize is Nikon CoolPix Camera
• 8th Place Prize is a Sony DVD HandyCam Camcorder
• 9th Place Prize is a Samsung Home Theater System
• 10th Place Prize is a Silhouette 22" Carry On Suitcase
• Plus one $50 Mastercard Gift Card will be given away daily

Please read the official contest terms and conditions. This game ends on July 23rd, 2010 at 11:59pm EST.

I received a gift card from Accor Hotels as a thank you for sharing this information with my readers.

The Most Surprising Gift I've Ever Received

Target and Twitter Moms have posed the question, "What was the most surprising gift you've ever received? Well, I did not have to think too hard to answer this question. It was a gift I received for my birthday from my husband, whom I had been dating for approximately one year at the time. It was such a huge surprise because it was something that would never have crossed my mind for me to even get for myself.

About 13 years ago, Todd surprised me with a trip to the Bahamas for my birthday. We lived together at the time, so it was pretty amazing that he could make all the plans and even arranged time off from work for me without my suspecting a thing.

This was a cherished gift, more than I even realized at the time. That trip to the Bahamas was the only real vacation we've ever taken aside from a weekend away in New Hampshire for our honeymoon. It was also the last carefree thing we did. Since then we began focusing on saving for our wedding, concentrating on starting and raising a family, and then on purchasing our first home. Perhaps we'll have the chance to revisit that vacation spot again someday . . . when all three children have finished graduate school and have moved out of the nest permanently. The oldest is in kindergarten now, so we have a bit of a wait.

If you'd like to play along, visit Twitter Moms to find out how you can enter to win one of ten $100 Target gift cards. Hurry, this contest closes on December 27th, 2009.

Enter to Win a Vacation to Kissimmee! (5 Winners)

Have I complained mentioned recently about how the last real vacation my husband and I took was in 1996? Yes, it has been that long if you do not count the weekend we spent in New Hampshire for our honeymoon in 2000. I'd say we are long overdue for some time away, wouldn't you?

The two factors keeping us from taking a family vacation is money and time. If we could score a free vacation, I think it is pretty safe to say that we could somehow make the time to go on it. I bet you would too. Right now you can enter to win one of five trips to Kissimmee, FL. Two of the trips will be for a party of four and will last for a week. Three of the trips will be for a party of two and will be a weekend getaway for 3 days/2 nights.

What we will do when we get to Florida depends on which trip we win. If it ends up being just my dear husband and I, then we can do just about anything. If we end up being able to take our children, then we will have to select some family-friendly activities. There are lots of things to do with free admission according to VisitKissimmee.com .

I think one day would definitely be spent at a water park like this one or Sea World's Aquatica. We definitely would have to sneak some shopping in there too. It wouldn't be a vacation without hunting for the perfect souvenirs.

This contest allows one mobile and one online entry per person. You can earn additional entries by visiting participating partners and asking for a game card. All you need to do is scratch off the game piece and enter the access code online. The deadline for entering is May 22nd, 2009.