giveaway

Another TSA-friendly toiletries bag up for grabs.

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thHad enough of winter? Maybe it’s time to go somewhere — and this week’s giveaway is a great travel companion.

The prize is another bag of travel-sized toiletries because (a) spring break is almost here and (b) it’s always a popular giveaway. Maybe that’s because you, like me, resent the hell out of paying $1.44 an ounce for toothpaste.

“Sized right for flight,” my left hind foot: It’s another way to gouge the consumer because manufacturers know how many of us want to go carry-on only.

What’s in the bag? So glad you asked.

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Giveaway: Hand-made chocolates. (Now with more fish!)

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slide5The giveaway schedule is all bollixed up lately, due to circumstances (mostly) beyond my control. Hope to get back on track soon.

Not this week, though. I’m choosing to put it up on a Monday and to draw on a Friday afternoon in honor of Valentine’s Day, in support of the local economy and with a tip of the hat to flavors of the Last Frontier.

Specifically: This batch of handmade sweets from Modern Dwellers Chocolate Lounge:

  • Would be a delightful treat for your loved one (or yourself!) on Feb. 14;
  • Are made by folks who live in Anchorage; and
  • Uses fish as an ingredient in two of the truffles.

Yes, fish. Get out of your comfort zone, already. Or offer the fishy ones to people you want to shock.

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Just in time for Valentine’s Day: Chocolate-scented toiletries.

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chocolate_0The every-Friday giveaway fell by the wayside for a few weeks. I missed it again last week because I was waiting for a couple of items to arrive from Good Earth Beauty.

They sat in the mailbox until my roommate got home late Friday evening and I must admit that the first glimpse caused me to make the girl-noise. Take a look at the accompanying photo and you’ll see why.

Couldn’t use them right away, because they were solidly frozen. But oh, how delicious they smelled on Saturday morning.

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Giveaway: “The Good Life for Less.”

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9780399160295L-1Amy Allen Clark knows a thing or two about frugality. She and her husband found themselves in financial trouble before the first of their two children was born. It was sink or swim, and she chose to swim: She championed the cause of cutting back expenses and paying off debts.

But that was just the start. Clark founded the MomAdvice.com website. She became a spokeswoman for brands like Kenmore, Kelloggs and Minute Maid. Now she’s written a book called “The Good Life For Less: Giving Your Family Great Meals, Good Times and a Happy Home on a Budget.”

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A shooter’s view of Alaska.

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That’s “shooter” as in photographer, not as in hunter.

This week’s giveaway “Snap Decisions: My 30 Years as an Alaska News Photographer,” is more than just the moose-and-goose-in-the-spruce school of photography.

I do have to say, however, that the moose photo to the left is one of my favorite images ever published in the Anchorage Daily News.

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Help for would-be bloggers.

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Interested in not just starting but also “monetizing” (ugh — hideous neologism!) your own site? You need this week’s giveaway.

It’s a copy of “How I Make Money Blogging: The Beginner’s Guide to Building a Money-Making Blog,”  an e-book by Crystal Stemberger. The author, who owns or co-owns eight sites, offers how-to advice on everything from choosing the right title to how much you should charge for ads.

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Think your money questions are dumb?

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Well, they’re not. Or so says my MSN Money colleague Liz Weston, aka the most widely read financial columnist on the Internet. Her latest book, “There Are No Dumb Questions About Money,” is this week’s giveaway.

Liz bases her text on real questions people have asked. In other words, this is information that people like you and I can use.

As a writer she is direct but also compassionate. While she understands how people can get into money trouble, she also is clear that the best person to help you usually is you.

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