Coffee Break

I need help finding a replacement for my generic Coffee Break coffee mug and I’m running a contest to get that help. That’s right - I’m offering a prize to the blogger who finds me a coffee mug to replace the standard Bloom’s Coffee mug in my header and Entrecard widget. Keep reading to find out the details - and why I need a new mug.

I’m in mourning. The “generic coffee mug” - the Coffee Break coffee mug, the coffee mug in my site header and my Entrecard widget - is no more. And as ridiculous as it may sound, it made me cry. That silly blue Bloom Coffee coffee mug was a gift from my sister-in-law, one of a pair she gave me two Christmases ago. It’s the latest in a series of coffee mugs - she always picks out the best ones, and they always seem to disappear on me one way or another. The generic coffee mug’s twin, for instance, disappeared shortly after we brought them home, probably carried off next door or upstairs by one of the kids.

Even more than that, the Bloom’s coffee mug has sorta come to symbolize this blog to me - along with the friendships and acquaintances I’ve made through this blog. Not too surprisingly, my kids understood my attachment to the Bloom’s Coffee mug. If I ask someone to pour me a coffee, they’ll almost always bring it to me in that mug. I’ve heard them tell their father to “put mom’s coffee mug down”. They actually have a pretty good reason for doing that, too. My last two coffee mugs lost their handles while he was using them - and I only found out about it when they showed up in the trash.

Which makes me wonder what the heck I was thinking when I handed the mug to him full of coffee yesterday morning. First, it’s not something I usually do. I don’t get coffee for him, for the most part. He can pour his own, and does - usually the first cup out of the pot anytime I make a pot because I want coffee. Still, yesterday I went out to pour myself a coffee, he was sitting in the living room and I figured I’d be nice for a change and bring him a coffee. I’d already had a cup and was drinking from a different mug. The Bloom’s mug was the only clean mug in the cabinet - the rest, I think, are sitting on his desk in his bedroom. I -almost- washed out the mug I was using so I could have my own mug. No - more precisely, because I didn’t  want HIM drinking out of my mug. And then I thought how rude and uncharitable it was to feel that way. I handed him the coffee and actually said to him “Don’t break it! It’s my blog mug!”

Well. He just dropped it and broke it. To his credit, he actually came out with the pieces in his hand and apologized - something I don’t think he’s ever done before. And now - I need to replace my favorite coffee mug.

Which is where you guys come in.  See, I figure there’s no sense crying over spilt milk when you can make lemonade instead. Or something like that. Here’s the deal. Find my new favorite coffee mug, and you win a prize. I’ve got a tiered level of prizes, and if I pick your coffee mug, you’ll get your choice of one of the following prizes:

1. If you’re a Today blogger: I’ll sign up for the Headliner Plus advertising package through your blog so you get the ad revshare.
2. If you’re an Entrecard blogger: 500 EC credits AND an ad on your blog.
3. If you sell ad space on your blog: $10 worth of advertising (preferably a 125×125 spot so I don’t have to make a new banner, heh!)
4. I’ll also buy the mug through a link on your blog, so that you get any rev share or affiliate share money for selling the mug AND put your 125×125 ad right under the Entrecard widget on this blog for a month.

How to Enter:

1. Find a coffee mug that you think I’ll like. It doesn’t have to be a duplicate of the Bloom’s coffee mug. Just pick out a coffee mug over at Amazon, Buy.com, an Etsy shop, your Cafepress shop (yep, if you sell coffee mugs through Etsy or Cafepress or anywhere else, you get a bonus prize - I’ll buy your mug if it’s my favorite!)
2. Write a blog post about my Coffee Mug Hunt contest, and link to this post using the words Coffee Mug Hunt as the anchor tag. In your blog post, post a picture of the coffee mug and a link to it so that I can buy it if I like it.
3. Post a link to your post in the comments to this post. Please link directly to your post, not just to your blog. Be sure to leave a valid email address so I can contact you if you post my favorite coffee mug.
4. Deadline: April 25 5:00 Eastern Time I’ll make my choice and announce it on April 26th.
5. Please - 1 mug per blog post. If you want to increase your chances of finding my favorite coffee mug, post more than one blog post!

Update: I’ve added a Mr. Linky widget to the Great Coffee Mug Hunt to make it easier to post a link to your blog post. If you’ve already commented, I’ve added you directly into the Mr. Linky. Please remember to link AND leave a comment.

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