Donors Choose Ending

Well, everyone, October is over and so is the Donors Choose Challenge. Unlike Sciencewomen who blew me out of the water, I made $129 from 3 donors and helped 16 students. Not too bad for a teeny blog like mine.


However, just because the challenge itself is over, doesn't mean you shouldn't consider donating. The site constantly has teachers adding projects that need help. All donations are tax deductible.

Also, every person that did donate during the challenge will receive a giving card of matching funds (courtesy of HP) to donate the same amount to any project you want! That's super giving! Thanks for your support.

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Donors Choose Final Days

The Donors Choose challenge ends tomorrow so I am imploring one last time: help the kids! You can donate as little as $25 dollars and it can really make a difference in someone's life. Many of the projects I picked at the beginning are completely funded so there are only a few left. Every donation is tax deductible and you always get a nice thank you note from the teacher and students. Did I mention the warm fuzzy feelings you get by helping someone out? You get those, too.

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Monday Already?!?!?

Ah... I really have been sick. I can't believe I am doing another Monday post. I hope you all have had a great week. Now on to another installment of Monday Blues! Today I feel like being mushy. Sometimes you have to do it. This picture is from my wedding. They are my bridesmaids. They look lovely in this turquoise blue. I wanted them to all wear what they wanted, but they wanted to look like bridesmaids so they all have matchy dresses. Aren't they lovely? I figured this would make me feel better since I still feel a bit out of it.

Remember, you can participate in Monday Blues as well. Just do a post and leave the link in the comments... or you can just leave the picture in the comments, that works too! Don't forget, next week SeaLaura hosts.

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Orange Fuzzy Goodness

This week, while very important for Veterans'/Armistice Day (yay to Vets!), is also very important for another reason... From the 10-16th, it is Orangutan Awareness Week. There are events at many zoos around the country aimed at educating people about orangutans.

The orangutan (Pogo sp.) is actually currently broken up into 2 species and are a very near extinction great ape. They are native to Malaysia and Indonesia. In fact, the word orangutan is a derivative of the expression orang hutan in Malay/ Indonesian, which means "forest man." This is an intersting title as they share 97% of our DNA. They spend more time in trees than any other of the great apes. In their treetops, they form "nests" made of twigs and leaves to sleep suspended. This is very similar to a hammock. Their ingenuity does not stop at their bedding, however. Wild orangutans have been observed multiple times using plants from only one genus to uses as an anti-inflammatory! Smart!
If you ever come across one in the wild (hehehe, highly unlikely but I am determined) , don't be scared, they pretty much only eat fruit. Unless you are dressed up like a fig or Carmen Miranda, I think you are ok. They are quite intelligent though and have even been observed making tools and what appears to be instructing youngsters in how to use them.

To find out more about these amazing creatures, you can click on the banner above or click Orangutan Outreach. The site even allows you to adopt really cute (not for keeps!) baby orangutans. The one on the left here is Dodo, the cute thing on the right is Kesi. There is a ton of information on the site about these amazing animals and a cute little gift shop that sells all things orangutan. Go learn something and help spread the word!

All photos used with permission from RedApes.org. Potspoon! is not affiliated in anyway, I just thought they were doing something awesome so I asked them for some pictures!

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Making the Difference...

So the amazing women at ScienceWomen started a readers' challenge for through Donors Choose. This website takes applications from public school teachers that are in less fortunate areas of our country for a listing on their site to raise money for school materials. The donations are completely tax deductible and you get those great warm fuzzy feelings. This is an amazing program so I have to give kudos to Alice and ScienceWoman, the two ladies behind the blog, for sending out this challenge. Click the banner below to go to their specific challenge, in which classes chosen were science based, or click the link above to see all the ways you can help. The amounts needed are negligible and it is a shame that schools even need to ask for those quantities for simple things like rulers. Don't buy lunch today and donate $10 to a classroom. It's money better spent!

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