I received an email today from Ashley Gatewood, the Marketing Coordinator for Missionfish.org - who are described on their website as"...the exclusive charity solution provider for eBay Giving Works, and a service of the Points of Light Foundation..."The Points of Light Foundation being a US Volunteer organisation for solving social problems in many communities.

The email reads:

"eBay Giving Works is shining a special Spotlight On Breast Awareness throughout the month of October. Participating sellers are donating part or all of their items' final sale prices to over 80 breast cancer-related organizations, including The Susan G. Komen Foundation and The Breast Cancer Fund. Check out http://www.missionfish.org/spotlight_bca to check out all a girl's favorite things (designer shoes, jewelry, etc.) and more—all to help an amazing cause."

I am quite happy to do a shameless plug for a nonprofit organisation that assists in raising funds for other nonprofit organisations.


I did a bit of resarch and found that:

Missionfish is a nonprofit organization completely separate to Ebay

Nonprofit organisations can participate in "Direct Selling" ie. they can sell unwanted or useless donations and transform it into cash for the charity

Ebay sellers can participate in "Community Selling" ie. they can give between 10% and 100% (minimum donation is now $5) of the final sale price to a charity of their choosing.

If you're not a registered charity or an Ebay seller, you still can buy an item marked with the charity icon to support nonprofit organisations.

It seems like a Win-Win situation to me.

Technorati Tags: charity breast+cancer nonprofit missionfish community+selling ebay+giving+works

I discovered this cookbook at Borders for around $20.

This is definitely the best cookbook I have ever bought. The recipes are simple, easy to follow and elegant. This is not an "I'm on a diet" cookbook which is refreshing. I am often annoyed that some authors think a vegetarian cookbook is for dieters only. I also can't stand the "vegie side dish" cookbooks. Aaargh!!

This cookbook is the perfect shape and size to prop up on your table or bench for inspiration. The first recipe from this book was a chickpea/spinach soup with paprika. The prepared meal looked exactly the same as the photo in the book and tasted better than I could have imagined.

I liked it so much I didn't want to eat it.

The book contains 200 recipes ranging from hearty feta pie to green curry and asian mushroom pilaf. The stuffed mushrooms look delicious, the laksa is mouthwatering and the instructions are simple.

Next on the menu, LAKSA!!!

Technorati Tags: vegie+food cooking cookbook laksa vegetarian cook

Calling all Trekkies (sorry Trekkers)!! Star Trek stuff on ebay at the moment!

Example 1: The Enterprise Blueprints


This is for those of you who know (or want to know) the enterprise better than the production team. It's actually quite unnerving. I'm sure some fans will soon build a working model and film their own show on YouTube!!



Example 2: Insignia with box & certificate



I admit it. I always wanted one of these.



Example 3: Very Retro Klingon Bird of Prey


I can't be sure but this looks 80s to me (E.T. era!!) but..who knows, it might be even earlier. Good idea to ask the seller about that one.

That's enough from me. I'm off to the Klingon Language Institute.

"Scotty, beam me up" (hehehehehe) - Yeah, I know, Kirk never said "Beam me up Scotty"



To quote the immortal words of Captain Kirk...

"I'm from Iowa. I just work in outer space."

Technorati Tags: trekkies trekkers star+trek ebay captain+kirk klingon

These mats are the sort of thing you talk about and never get. Well, not me!!

I needed to find somewhere to put my pretzel-shaped body while doing my yoga moves.

I had limited space and very small budget - the average mat seemed to retail for about $30-80!! It seemed a little out of my range. All those super-slick Yoga and Pilates specialty stores seemed to mark them up just a little too much.

Then I stumbled on a blue one almost identical to the one in the picture. It was at a daggy hardware store at a ratty shopping complex in deepest darkest Rowville (shudder!).

The price tag read $4.

I was aghast. And delighted.

I thought "Wow! This is great. I can buy this here and pretend I got it from a snazzy Yoga store and no-one will ever know....er"

Like it matters.

Anyone thinking of buying one, try the rubber stores and the hardware stores first.

Happy Shopping!!

Technorati Tags: yoga+mat yoga pilates

I like to support original artists - this particular item is on Ebay at the moment. Click here to check it out.

If you want to check out the artist's homepage click here
It's called "Painting Everyday" - the artist Nathan Bond is based in Brooklyn, New York.

I like the artist's style of painting and the way he focuses on a single object as the subject. Also I love the use of colour- very bold.

My favourite one is "Manzanilla Olive" - for some reason I am obsessed with olives!!

I think it's great these paintings are getting sold - a blog + ebay can be a good gallery and shopfront! Hopefully more artists will become better known via the internet as well as
through the traditional channels.

Technorati Tags: art original+art artwork Nathan Bond ebay