Opportunity for maximizing your charitable giving...

In these tough times I'm looking for ways to extend my charitable giving dollar. I've cleaned out my closets and given away much more this holiday season in a hope that it will help the needy, and I've been delivering canned goods to my local food bank, whose lines have already been obviously longer this year.

The ladies at Coffee Chat With 1000 Wise Women have another way to help out--a contest! It's called Easy as 1-2-3: Money for your Favorite Charity, and I'm clicking over there now to nominate my favorite charity so it will be in the running to receive the $100 that the site will donate to the lucky winner!

They're also adding $1 for every comment posted through December 31 in support of the charity that wins.

Sounds like a good way to support a good cause this holiday season. Hope you'll join me.

BBAW Begins!

The Book Blogger Awareness Week festivities have begun! Hosted by My Friend Amy, this week features book blogger awards and many, many book giveaways.

There are too many raffles and giveaways for me to mention them all here. But My Friend Amy is giving away books and chocolate today--a winning combination, if you ask me. Head on over My Friend Amy to check out the action!

"Field Report"--Encouragement to Write!

I just heard about an interesting new site called Field Report, where they publish people's non-fiction. Then they hold contests where they give fairly hefty cash prizes for the best writing. It's a really interesting idea, and I think it could be a great way for fledgling writers to get their work out there.

I like anything that encourages people to write.

If you want a taste of some really good writing that appeared on the site, read the essay by the first contest winner, Murr Brewster, who, it would appear, is a postal worker with a heart of gold and a way with words. It's really good.

I think this could even encourage me to write...