giveaway

Summer, voting and a chance to win free stuff.

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thI just got back from voting in the primary election, a civic duty made pleasant by the beauty of the weather: blue skies after many days of rain, big puffy clouds and a slight breeze that stirred the faint but unmistakable fragrance of decaying vegetation.

Yes, summer is on the wane. Wildflowers and gardens alike are dying back – hence the smell of plant life sinking gradually to earth. Birch leaves are falling like golden rain in my BFF’s back yard. Most of the fireweed has spawned out, although a few defiant pinky-lavender blossoms still show up here and there.

The sun’s angle and intensity have both changed noticeably. As I noted in the linked article, “August sun compared to June sun is like a social kiss: close enough to get its point across but far enough away to feel like display rather than true affection.”

 

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Giveaway: ‘The Penny-Pinching Prepper.’

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thThe time to prepare for disasters – or even moderate inconveniences – is before they happen. This week’s giveaway can help.

“The Penny-Pinching Prepper: Save More, Spend Less and Get Prepared for Any Disaster” is the latest book from Bernie Carr, she of the Apartment Prepper blog.

Ignore the stereotypes about wild-eyed prepper nutcases stockpiling bullets and Spam. Preparing for power outages, extreme weather and the like just makes sense. In fact, the government urges us all to have at least several days’ worth of supplies on hand. Just ask anyone who’s ever lived through an ice storm whether it’s a bad idea to be a prepper.

 

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Giveaway: “Smart Mom, Rich Mom.”

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th-1Take a look at personal finance articles aimed at women. How many of them focus on topics like using coupons, getting the best prices for school clothes and cutting back on our purse collections?

Those are all good things to do. But why aren’t women getting information about building real wealth?

Women make 85 percent of consumer purchases. (Hint: Not all of them are of Jimmy Choo footwear.) Yet they are too often ignored, patronized or marginalized by the financial planning industry.

Kimberly Palmer, author of “Smart Mom, Rich Mom: How To Build Wealth While Raising A Family,” has a friend in that line of work. He told her about a colleague who talked to the husband and referred to the wife in the third person. The wife was sitting right next to her spouse.

That’s why we need books like this one. We do need to worry our pretty li’l heads about money.

 

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Heat wave, Anchorage-style.

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th-2It’s 77 degrees here and I’m melting, melting…

Which is a little embarrassing to admit. Although I grew up in a hot-and-humid area and also sweltered through the occasional 100-degree heat wave in Seattle* my blood has done got thin.

Like many other Alaskans, I perceive temps in the 60s as warm enough, thanks. When it his 70 I start fanning myself. Now that it’s closer to 80 than 70, I’m panting like a black dog in the noonday sun.

Right now I’m pet-sitting a black dog (Rottweiler/black Lab mix), a furry solar collector whose solution is simple: When he’s not in the house, he spends his time underneath the deck attached to the greenhouse DF built. 

I’m the wrong size – and the wrong flexibility factor – to follow him under there, so I cope by staying out of the direct sun and drinking lots of water and iced tea. It’s supposed to be in the mid- to high 70s all week.

 

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Giveaway: $10 Starbucks card.

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thSolstice isn’t until June 20, but I think it’s hot enough in some places to count as summer. Cold drinks are a fine antidote to heat and humidity, and Starbucks cards are always popular as giveaways. QED.

In addition, this is a fairly easy prize for me to mail from out of town. Yep, I’m on the road again — but this time in Alaska.

Specifically, I’m attending the 24th annual Last Frontier Theatre Conference in Valdez (that’s pronounced val-DEEZ, incidentally). For the next week I’ll be attending classes and staged readings, including a full-length work by my BFF Linda B, “The Cooter Creek Passion Play.”

 

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Giveaway: ‘Frugality For Depressives’ paperback.

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thWhen I gave away e-copies of “Frugality For Depressives: Money-Saving Tips For Those Who Find Life A Little Harder,” some of my readers (and my daughter’s, too) said they were waiting for the physical edition. Either they don’t have e-readers or they, like me, prefer to hold a book in their hands.

I can help with that. The trade paperback edition of the book is now available, and I’m giving away three copies.

Naturally a mom would think her kid’s book is splendid. But I’m not the only one who thinks the book can help depressives and the chronically ill.

 

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Giveaway: Another TSA-friendly travel bag.

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thGot travel plans for Memorial Day weekend? This week’s giveaway will make your trip through security a lot more affordable.

These little bags are always hugely popular, and for good reason: Who wants to pay $1.29 for the one-ounce tube of toothpaste that will get you and your carry-on bag through security?

But toothpaste isn’t the only thing in this bag. Here’s what the winner will take on his/her next trip:

 

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Giveaway: “The Thriver’s Edge.”

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thSpring means rebirth, transformation and beauty. How about translating that kind of positive energy to your professional and/or personal life?

“The Thriver’s Edge: Seven Keys to Transform the Way You Live, Love and Lead,” by Dr. Donna Stoneham, might be just what you need to make this year your best ever.

Stoneham is a “transformational leadership expert” who’s spent three decades helping individuals, teams and entire organizations to “unleash their power to thrive.” She’s worked with non-profits and Fortune 1000 leaders alike to get to the bottom of the fears, negative beliefs or self-denigrating ideas that keep them from realizing their full potential.

That potential, by the way, can be happiness and peace — and you don’t have to be a captain of industry to take to heart the lessons from this book.

 

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Giveaway: $20 Amazon card.

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thHoly cow — a month has gone by without a giveaway! Work plus travel plus seasonal ennui can do a number on even the best of intentions.

Although I have a handful of books begging to be re-homed, I don’t have it in me today to do the careful write-ups they deserve. (Tomorrow’s not looking good, either.)

 

Thus I’m taking the path of least resistance and proffering an Amazon gift card. Easy for me to send. Easy for you to spend. I’d call that a win-win.

 

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Valentine’s Day giveaway: Alaska jewelry.

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IMG_20160204_140957 copyBack in December I gave away some of my friend Linda B’s handcrafted jewelry. The response was so enthusiastic I’ve decided to do it again, in time for Valentine’s Day. Also in time for her “First Friday” event tomorrow evening at the 2 Friends Gallery here in Anchorage. (If you’re in the area, you should go.)

Once again I wish I were a better photographer. But I’m not, so you’re just going to have to trust me with the details about these pendants.

This time around Linda started with a copper disk and a copper rectangle, knocking both of them silly with a texturing hammer. You can catch a glimpse of this detail despite my sub-par photography.

Next she added colorful metal accents and some copper ones, attaching them with rivets she makes out of heavy-gauge copper wire. Each of these comes with an 18-inch cord.

These would be fine Valentine’s Day gifts if that’s the sort of thing you do. They’d also do well as birthday or Christmas presents — or maybe for a little self-gifting. As one of the characters in “Steel Magnolias” put it, what separates us from the lower animals is our ability to accessorize.

 

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