Killing Time with Another TLWR Giveaway

I have had a really great post written and sitting in my drafts for several days now. Why? As I mentioned, I went on my 3rd field trip last Thursday and because it involves Canada Post, I felt it was only appropriate to send the draft to one of the powers-that-be to give his seal of approval before posting it online. Turns out, he is a very busy man so I am patiently waiting to receive an email from him to let me know that the information is accurate and represents Canada Post in a positive light. In the meantime, I am throwing up these silly posts in an attempt to kill time while I wait.

I came upon another blog, "I Love Letters", that I am enjoying. This blog comes out of rural Australia and is easy to read and follow and has a very warm "feel" to it. 'Kaz' posts her address and welcomes letters. She promises to write back so if you feel like sending a letter to Australia, she's the one to send it to. I also came upon"A Postcard A Day." In her words: "I'm one of those people who has led a nomadic existence, and so did my parents. My father started collecting postcards as a way to continue this life at least in spirit when his wandering days were over. I'm continuing the collection and posting at least one, chosen more or less at random, each day." It's like taking a mini virtual vacation to places and times you may never have visited had it not been for this blog. Not only can you visit exotic places all over the world, many of the postcards are from long ago and due to the research that goes into each post, you feel like a time traveller. This is especially great for those of us who are home bound due to careers, commitments and children.

So, while I wait, why not have another awesome GIVEAWAY? No matter where you are in the world, you can win this GIVEAWAY. This time, TLWR is giving away a  Letter Writing Kit. Not only will you receive a package with all things you need for letter writing but a part of the gift will be personalized stationery courtesy of Inky Design of Ottawa, ON, Canada. To be eligible, you must be a follower of The Letter Writing Revolution blog and then all you have to do is leave a comment below to enter. Comment once per day if you wish until Wednesday, October 20th when the winner will be randomly selected and announced. I recently received personalized stationery from Inky Design and it is beautiful and classy! The winner will email me their address and before long you will receive a gift of all things stationery! This GIVEAWAY will be mailed to you wherever you may be.

On a final note, I recently made a decision to take a sabbatical from Facebook. I have never been into Twitter but I have found Facebook has slowly started to take control over my time. Reminds me of the way I used to have the odd cigarette and before long I was a pack-a-day smoker. I created a profile on Facebook about three years ago and now it is a habit that I check into several times per day. Gotta know if Karen P. is happy/sad/constipated/hungover, etc.or whether or not Janet L. is eating a bagel/bored or on her way to work. Seriously. When I actually thought about it, I realized that aside from the cool links and photos, I really waste a heck of a lot of time on there. I know, I know, I really could control my urges more and only allow myself 30-minutes per day on Facebook but I am an all-or-nothing kind of a gal and so I decided to just have a leave of absence and go "cold turkey" just as I did with my smoking habit 12 years ago. So far, so good. It's been 48 hours and aside from a handful of panicked comments, I haven't received any FB messages and I feel free. I have also accomplished a lot in the last couple of days as I am not getting distracted and losing pockets of time on Facebook. My sister said something to the effect of, "It will be interesting to see who your "friends" are when you're not so easily accessible on Facebook."

Sorry...couldn't resist.

I guess it's the false sense of connection that I get from Facebook and the weirdness I feel when I run into someone who I haven't seen in two years and they ask me about something I did a month ago. When I look at them with that twisted/confused look, they reply, "Oh, I read it on Facebook." That creeps me out and I think I want to return to real connection like phone calls and handwritten letters. This cartoon  was posted in the comments at Good Mail Day. Made me laugh.

One last thing..........
The other day, I asked a friend (during a chat on, you guessed it,  Facebook) for his snail mail address as I wanted to send a birthday invitation to his son for our daughter's birthday. A few minutes later, I received an email from him with his email address in the body of the message. Huh? I replied and explained that I needed his street address and postal code as I wanted to mail an invitation. His reply, "Oh! Weird. Paper. I remember that. We'll have to find our mailbox!"

Yep, time for a revolution. A Letter Writing Revolution.

The "45 Letters in 45 Days" Challenge

If you're new to this Blog, please read the very first post to understand what The Letter Writing Revolution is all about: http://theletterwritingrevolution.blogspot.com/2010/06/one-of-these-days-im-gonna-sit-down-and.html

You might assume I live alone (with about twenty cats) and have a lot of time on my hands when you read my next brilliant idea.......
As of today, I see that I have 45 followers and I thought it might be fun (or maybe completely insane) to challenge myself to 45 letters in 45 days. This means that each follower would have to send me an email with your snail mail address so that I may write you a letter. This is assuming that the followers are actually "following" this blog on a regular basis.  Of course, you can always opt out of assisting me in my challenge (party pooper!).

How hard can it be? I will set aside 20 minutes per day to handwrite a letter. Each letter will be original and will be mailed the same day that it is written. You are not obligated to write me back but I suspect some of you have yet to experience the thrill of getting a handwritten letter. Maybe you used to write letters because you were actually alive before email and texting existed but perhaps it has been a long while since someone sat down and wrote YOU a letter. I would like to offer you this wonderful experience. It would be my absolute pleasure to spend time writing to YOU and mailing YOU a letter.....the old-fashioned way.

This is a free, no-obligation offer.

For those of you who do not know me personally, I will use your mailing address for letter writing ONLY. I am not into scams or stalking or anything of that sort. Perhaps you would like me to write a letter to your child.....just specify when you email me your address. I am happy to surprise your child with a letter. Just make sure you tell me how old they are so that it is age-appropriate.

So, for the next couple of weeks, I will be collecting snail mail addresses and I hope to receive all 45 addresses of my followers. I will begin the "45 Letters in 45 Days" Challenge on July 25th. Please forward your snail mail address to keonjulie@hotmail.com and put in the subject line: TLWR

You will receive a letter from me by early August..............I promise.
Thank you to my follower from Switzerland who surprised me with a delightful letter!!!