An Adorable Girl with a Wonderful Mission

The most adorable French child on earth - not that I know many French children but I think it's safe to guess she would be ranked as one of the all-time cutest if some sort of freakish ranking system was put in place - as seen here, is back. This time she has more than a story to tell, she has a cause. Check out her video and then click here if you want to help out with her 'friends in Mongolia'. Adorable.


Capucine for Edurelief in Mongolia from Capucha on Vimeo.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE!

HO HO HO! Time for another givewaway!


Leave me a Christmas related comment: fav memory/tradition/joke WHATEVER on this post and you'll be entered in my draw to win a ZipIt similar to this one.

The contest closes on December 25th. Be sure to leave me some sort of contact info (email or link to your blog) so that I can contact you if you're the lucky winner!

And the WINNER is...

Congratulations to Melanie from Whimsical Creations who is the lucky winner of the alien stocking! With the huge number of entries (all TWO, hee hee) I figured writing names on slips of paper was the easiest way to take care of the draw and Whimsical was the name pulled.

Thanks for entering the contest. I'll be posting another giveaway VERY soon but will be leaving this one open longer to give more people a chance to enter.

A Big One!

Enter the Oh How Lovely Shops Big Holiday Giveaway!

A big giveaway at Oh! How Lovely! - even if you don't want to enter the contest you should check out this blog, it features loads of awesome goods.

ENTER TO WIN!!

You have 25 more hours to enter the draw for one of my alien stockings. Click here and leave a comment telling me what your fav Christmas tradition is and you will be entered into the draw. I'll close the contest at 11pm Sunday evening and will contact the winner for mailing info as soon as I have drawn the lucky number. Family and friends feel free to enter as well - the more entries the merrier.

I'll be posting another giveaway this week so be sure to pop by!

ALIEN STOCKING GIVEAWAY!!

Ho Ho Ho ladies and gentlemen.

I promised to give out goodies in December and although most will likely be links to downloadable fabulousness and links to other blogger's giveaways I will certainly be dolling out a few freebies myself. It's time.

The first little something I have for you is one of my super sweet (if I don't say so myself) alien stockings. I should have done this a couple weeks ago so that the very lucky winner would have the stocking for Christmas (there's a novel idea) but I didn't so oh well, you'll have it to stash away for next near! See, what I'm actually doing is helping you out with your Christmas shopping for 2009. No need to thank me.

The stocking I am putting up for grabs is not the one show in the photo above so the pattern placement will differ slightly. The lining is red cotton and the white trim is crazy soft. This stocking is not listed in my shop because of the fact that I sewed the trim on a little wonky. The seam on the trim doesn't line up with the seam on the stocking, it's one of those things that isn't at all noticeable unless you are looking for an oops. Why did I even bother mentioning it? Well... the winner might examine the stocking closely and if they were to find the oops and I hadn't mentioned it they might just think I'm sloppy and I wouldn't want them to think I sell sloppy goods in my shop. Blah, blah, blah. What was meant to be a short post has turned ridiculous.

If you want this adorable alien stocking what you need to do is post a comment telling me about a fav Christmas memory or a tradition you love. Post your comment by Sunday December 14th so that I can draw a winner late Sunday evening and ship this puppy off on Monday morning. Depending on where you live there's a slight possibility that you might receive the stocking by Christmas.... it's doubtful but possible. Never say never! Remember to leave me some info whether it be an email address or a link to your blog so that I can reach you if you win.

Feel free to let your friends know about the giveaway. It's time for the lurkers to show their pretty selves. There are many regular readers here at JJ who I have yet to 'meet' so this is your opportunity to leave a comment, don't be afraid, I won't bite... hard.

Slap a Stamp On It

The Christmas cards are in the post. Finally. Yep, I left it late so our family across the ocean will be receiving Christmas wishes after the holidays I'm sure, but at least they'll know we were thinking of them. Better late than never.

I love opening the mailbox and finding mail (not bills) addressed to me so Christmas cards are just one more reason I can't get enough of this season. Our little Christmas card display is slowly filling.

Mom this little link is for you in particular. I stumbled upon this blog and she has posted a pile of links for giveaways for scrapbooking and card making supplies.

Mike & I received one super special card yesterday from a fabulous friend who we won't be seeing this Christmas *insert sad face here* A card from the Stephen Lewis Foundation arrived and to be honest with you I figured it was a 'please donate moolah' request. I was thrilled when I opened it and saw that it was a thank you note from the foundation, money has been donated in our names! What a very cool gift from a very cool and thoughtful friend. Thank you Tanya!!

More Freebies!

Another giveaway on How About Orange; pop over to enter for a chance to win two very cool posters of your choice from The Poster List. I haven't purchased a poster since high school but I am tempted to do so now. I want one of these for my office/studio:

Primary Cameras

Sew or Die

Another awesome freebie is being offered over at Make and Takes... you have the chance to win the cutest little print making kit by Jacobella. If you're the winner (and don't you worry, you're all winners in my mind) you can create a little somethin somethin like this:

Gone Green

Original picture uploaded by Bad Bad

It's about time Waterloo went Green(er). Slowly but surely our region is introducing a residential green bin program which provides residents with bins for organic household materials (food, tissue etc). I was thrilled (no, it doesn't take much these days to excite me) to receive a pamphlet on our doorstep a month ago that explained how our neighbourhood was the next in line to receive the bins. We already recycle but community composting will definitely reduce the amount of trash we end up with on the curb. Our new bin has arrived and has been put to good use already.

Mike and I are also doing our part for the environment by becoming a one car family. Let's be honest, we are doing this to save money, but helping the environment is a definite perk. I handed the keys to Flea, my little Echo, over to the dealership on Tuesday. It was a bitter sweet moment. It's great knowing that I won't have to worry about gas, a monthly lease payment and insurance but I also lose some of my freedom. Mike and I are going to have to learn to share! Oh boy.

Make a Difference

Unless you were just born or have been living under a rock you are aware of the fact that poverty is a serious issue affecting individuals across the globe . It's easy to say that you are concerned but whether you choose to take action to try and make a difference is another story.

I'll admit that I'm guilty of talking the talk and not walking the walk. Yes I want to make a difference but I really don't do much to actually make this happen. I donate food to my local food bank, I donate small amounts of money when people ask for my support for one fundraiser or another, I toss change into an open palm every now and then, and I've talked about volunteering (talked being the key word). I know I should find some time to help out with those less fortunate but I'm greedy when it comes to my free time because I have so little of it.

Basically what I'm sheepishly admitting is that I want to find a way to contribute to change without leaving my couch. It just so happens that I have found one way to do this: Kiva.

"Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world." What better way to help people than to help them help themselves.

Please take a moment to visit Kiva's site and consider loaning some cash to someone who needs a little help. You can contribute to change without even leaving your living room.

Bloggers Unite

Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

October 15th (that's tomorrow ladies and gentlemen) is Blog Action Day. Watch the video, visit the site and join the world of bloggers in raising awareness about the global issue of poverty.

VOTE!

originally uploaded by skippyjon

October 14th is election day in Canada so get out there and vote people. You have no right to bitch about Bush-loving Harper unless you cast a vote.

If you haven't registered to vote it's not too late. Head to your nearest polling station tomorrow and bring along government issued photo ID or two pieces of ID (one with your name and address and another with your name and signature), you can register right then and there.

14 Million Dollars!!

My brother-in-law Paul participated in an amazing fundraiser this past weekend: The Ride to Conquer Cancer. Participants rode 200 km (124.27 miles for my friends from the USA) on their bicycles in just two days!

Although tired and sore from his journey Paul crossed the finish line with an ear to ear smile plastered on his face. Seeing him and hundreds of other participants (2850 in total) cross that line was really an amazing feeling. It might sound cheesy but there was a real feeling of hope in the air. Although there were many seasoned cyclists taking part in the ride the majority of the participants were average Joes: people of all shapes, sizes and ages. Unbelievable... 200 km!

This was the first year the fundraiser took place and a jaw dropping total of 14 million dollars was raised for The Princess Margaret - one of the 5 leading cancer research hospitals in the world - the money will go directly to the highest cancer research priorities! 14 MILLION DOLLARS!! That just blows my mind.

Kudos to you Paul! I am in awe of you and your accomplishment, congratulations!

Feed Your Brain and People Too

It doesn't have to take much effort for you to make a difference in the world. A friend sent me a link ages ago to a great site called FreeRice. The site donates 20 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program each time you manage to successfully complete the task of matching two words. Easy peasy!

Well, it starts off relatively easy anyways but it gets harder as you go - you build your vocabulary and exercise your bean while doing something positive for others.

Tis the Season - give a few minutes of your time and make a difference.