Having some major computer problems right now, so I’m going to make this quick in case the thing crashes again.

If I’m able to get online, I’ll be blogging today at Micole Writes Romance.  Answering questions about INHERITING HIS SECRET CHRISTMAS BABY & THE BITE BEFORE CHRISTMAS both…plus a few other things.

If I’m not able to get online—or stay online for long, at any rate—the interview will still be there, & I hope you’ll drop by to check it out.  Fill the house for me, just in case, okay? :crazy

Aside from that, I will leave you with a few holiday LOLCat funnies to fill your day.  You know, in case your computer isn’t driving you crazy. :smash

This Christmas, while you’re shopping & sending cards & celebrating with your loved ones, I hope you’ll take a moment to remember all of the homeless, neglected, & abused animals out there who spending their holiday cold & hungry & alone.

Now through the end of the year, the ASPCA is running a double-your-donation campaign.  Up to $150,000, every donation made will be matched by a gift grant, which means they have the potential to raise $300,000 to help needy animals.  How amazing is that?!  I’ve already made my donation, & hope you will, too.  Even if you can only send $10 or $20, every little bit helps & will be matched dollar-for-dollar!

Also running a dollar-for-dollar donation-doubling fundraiser right now is one of my favorite local organizations, the Hundred Cat Foundation.  A nearby business has offered to match donations made between now & the end of the year, up to $3,000.

That is just an amazing donation & would mean so, so much to this wonderful group of volunteers who truly care about animals & about cutting down on the pet overpopulation problem.  They run a fantastic Trap-Neuter-Release program, provide food & shelter to entire colonies of feral cats, & hold regular spay/neuter clinics.  I’ve been in touch personally with the ladies who run this foundation; have donated books & baked goodies for their annual fundraisers, & have even called on them a time or two when I was in a bit of a pickle.  So again, if you could spare $10 or $20—or more!—it will certainly go to good use at HCF.  (And, yes, I’ve already made my donation to them, too. :kitty )

But those are just a couple of very worthy suggestions.  Please consider donating to your own local animal shelters or animal rescue organizations, as well.  The next time you go shopping, pick up an (extra?) bag of dog &/or cat food & drop it off at your local shelter.  The same goes for canned food, cat litter, pet toys, or snacks.  Knit, crochet, or collect a bunch of blankets & donate them to help keep adoptable animals warm in those cold, lonely cages.  Even pick up the phone & ask what they’re most in need of at the moment.

And though most shelters won’t let animals be adopted over the holidays because too many people think it will be a great present, only to end up returning or neglecting the animal later, if you aren’t already the proud guardian of some wonderful adopted pet, consider opening your home to one—or two, or ten *vbg*—after the holidays.  I swear, you will never be sorry. :dog

(P.S. “The Friendly Beasts” by Garth Brooks is one of my very favorite Christmas songs…even if it does make me cry every time I hear it. :blinkie )