Ask Me Anything

Hi guys! Since I can't seem to avoid a good time suck, I joined formspring.me. On the right hand side of this page, you can see a little "Ask Me Anything" box. Feel free to submit any questions you may have, and I'll do my best to answer them.

I've already really enjoyed answering the questions I've received thus far! It made me think more deeply about this project, which was kind of, well, NICE!

NICE Assignment: Give Valentines

I admit it. I love Valentine's Day. Nine years ago on February 14th, my husband and I started dating, so of course it holds a special place in my lovey-dovey heart. But my appreciation for this holiday started at a much earlier age.

February 14, 1987 — It was my second grade year at Veteran's Memorial Elementary School in Bricktown, NJ. We set up envelopes on the backs of our chairs for collecting valentines from our classmates. After they were all distributed, I started tearing through those mini cards. Care bears. Strawberry Shortcake. All with love from my 7 year old friends. But one card was extra special.

It had a worm crawling out of an apple on the front and it read, "You are the apple of my eye." Then written in pencil on the back of the card was, "I really like you and I was wondering if you like me too." This little love note came from classmate Michael F. and yes, I did like him too. We had a delightful second grade romance until my family moved away in April. *sigh*

Anyway, exchanging valentines each year, even if they only came from friends and not secret elementary school crushes, was always one of my favorite activities. It made me feel special, liked, even loved. As we got older and sending Valentines wasn't mandatory anymore, I missed it. In 1997, my high school boyfriend, Tim, filled out two boxes of kids valentines and taped them up in my locker for it. And I loved it just as much as I had ten years earlier.

All of these memories came back to me when I received an email from reader Becca B. the other day. She wrote:
I was in LOVE with the send a note to a stranger idea- so I adapted/adopted it to Valentine's Day and am sending out 20 old school, handmade V-Day cards next week. Thank you so much for this & other inspirations!

Today's Assignment: Give Valentines
Becca has a great idea. Why not send out Valentines like we used to? And if you don't have time to make some out of doilies and markers, just buy a box! Imagine how your friends, family, coworkers (even strangers perhaps?) will feel when they get one of those little envelopes in their hand. It's a gesture that doesn't require much money or effort, but it's guaranteed to bring a smile to someone's face.

I hope that you'll play along! And maybe you'll discover that you're the apple of someone's eye. :)

NICE Film: A Small Act

I received an email the other day from Emily with a link to this post on Mental Floss.

A Small Act is a documentary film that was recently in competition at Sundance. From the website:

THE STORY
When Hilde Back sponsored a young, impoverished Kenyan student, she thought nothing of it. She paid roughly $15 dollars per term to keep him in primary school. She certainly never expected to hear from him, but many years later, she does. Chris Mburu has been thinking of his “angel” Hilde since he was a boy. The small contribution she made paid off – Chris went all the way to Harvard. Now, he’s a respected UN human rights lawyer, dedicating his life to battling genocide and crimes against humanity. Chris decides to replicate Hilde’s generosity by starting his own scholarship fund, and he names it after her. This scholarship will educate bright kids in his village so they can also succeed and give back. But Chris is stunned when Kenya’s public schools start failing, and only two new students qualify for sponsorship. Simultaneously, Kenya falls into ethnic-based election violence. After working on conflicts in neighboring countries, Chris knows that ignorance fuels ethnic hatred. Education has never been more important. Chris must decide what to do.

And here is the trailer for the film:


I can't wait to see this! I hope that it ends up showing at the Philadelphia Film Festival this spring. For anyone that has ever wondered if their actions could make a difference in someone's life, this film is the response.

NICE Assignment: Rock the (Pepsi) Vote

Happy Monday!

I just heard about Pepsi's Refresh Everything project, and I wanted to share it with you. Pepsi is giving away $1.3 million in grants to folks like you and me who have an idea that will improve their community (or even their world). The cool part is that it's divided up so that quite a few projects will have the opportunity to take shape. They accept new ideas every month. (Hmm, maybe an Operation NICE grant would be helpful!)


Today's Assignment: Rock the Vote

Help make these dreams come true by participating in the voting process! Just go to Refresh Everything and check out the projects in the running. There are some brilliant ideas listed that might even inspire you!

And in case you need a little nudge regarding which project to vote for, a friend of mine, Jess Sand, has her project in the running right here. She and her partners are looking to "empower the next generation of sustainable designers." Read about how they plan to use the $50,000 grant, should they win. All they have to do is get into the top ten!

Sustainable design not your thing? That's cool! There are plenty of other ideas, from forming "an all girls club that promotes self-esteem in poverty area" to getting "1,000,000 young adults onto bikes for everyday transportation" to providing "housing and day care for survivors of domestic violence." Your vote could help launch a powerful project thanks to the NICE folks at Pepsi.

NICE Stuff: Between Me and You Journals

Happy Friday! Are you guys ready for the weekend? I signed up for a yoga class that starts tomorrow. I'm a little nervous about it because I'm probably the least flexible, least athletic person that will ever step foot into that studio. But hopefully after five classes, I'll come close to touching my toes. It was a great excuse to buy a cute mat, bag, and outfit. :)

Have you seen these Between Me and You journals before? They are filled with thought-provoking questions that the recipient fills out, and then the book is returned back to you, and you are given insight into the mind of your loved one. I've notice them throughout the blogosphere for a while now and have been interested in checking one out. I really wish I would have had one to exchange with my grandmother before she passed away a few years ago. She would have loved it!

If there's someone in your life whose brain you'd like to pick, then now is the perfect time to get a Between Me and You Keepsake Journal. Sand Dune Publishing Co. is donating 25% of all sales today to the Red Cross for earthquake relief in Haiti. I think I might get two "Honey" journals for me and my husband. It'd be cute to exchange them on Valentine's Day, don't you think?

Well, I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

NICE Campaign: Help Haiti

As most of you are aware, Haiti was hit with a devastating 7.0 earthquake yesterday. I read that an estimated 3 million people have been affected by this earthquake. If you would like to help but aren't sure how, the Red Cross is accepting donations through their International Response Fund. And to make it even simpler, you can text "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10 to American Red Cross relief for Haiti. I just made my donation. I hope that you'll consider doing the same.

Or if you know of another organization that you'd like to share with us, please do so in the comments.

Thank you all!

NICE Stuff: Heidi Burton Prints

I saw this print on Mixed Plate yesterday and I knew I had to share. It's by illustrator Heidi Burton, and it's just the kind of encouragement I love!


I also adore this one from Heidi's etsy shop. She writes, "I strongly believe that small random acts of kindness make the world go round; Yes I'm a bit of a hippy when it comes to philosophising about human nature! :P " I'd have to agree with her on that one!


Check out the other gorgeous illustrations in Heidi Burton's etsy shop and click here to take a peek at her blog.

NICE Assignment: Mail a Card to a Stranger

Did you guys have a good weekend? I'm so proud of myself. I cleaned without having to be nagged by my husband. It's a miracle! Or at least, I'm sure he sees it that way. But like I said, I need to be a better wife this year, and destroying my neat and orderly husband's home with my habitual pile-making is NOT being a very nice wife.

I have a fun assignment for this week, but I can't take credit for it. The idea came from Felicity, who was one of the Australian flower distributors from last month. She sent me an email a few weeks ago that said, "I have a stack of Christmas cards left over that I know I won’t use so I plan to randomly pick names out of the phone book and send them to people. I will explain that it’s a gesture of niceness that was inspired by your website. It’s just the thought that one person might be having the worst day possible, thinking no one cares… it gives me hope to think that one act CAN change someone’s life."

Today's Assignment: Mail a Card to a Stranger

I have so many notecards in my home. Not only do I have a plethora of leftover melissahead cards, but I also can't help but buy cute ones when I see them. So what if I took a card (or two, or three) and sent them out to strangers. Just as a hello. Just to brighten their day. I'm actually not quite sure I have a phone book handy. I remember receiving one a few months ago and thinking, "Who the heck still uses a phone book?" But I could always pick a random last name and search whitepages.com. What do you think? Will it freak someone out? If it were me, I'd love to receive anything other than a bill in the mail.

So who wants to help me out with a surprise snail mail blitz of kindness?

EDIT: Blogger Undercover Mama left me a comment with a link to the Random Name Generator, which is perfect if you're looking for a stranger to mail a card to! Thanks for the recommendation!

NICE Testimonial: One Million Acts of Kindness

Hi guys! Well, I've done two drawings this week, so that's progress. I have to keep pushing to stay motivated! How are your goals/resolutions/mantras going so far?

Today's story comes from Shanon. About a month ago, she stumbled upon something pretty darn nice.

I was walking across campus yesterday and saw a bus with the words 'Spread kindness to everyone every chance you get' on the sides. I had to stop.
I met Bob and Bogart (a happy Boston terrier) and they are traveling across the country spreading the word on the Kindness Bus Tour.

I'm not sure if you've heard of the them, but they are encouraging everyone to perform One Million Acts of Kindness in their lifetime!
That's 50 acts of kindness a day, for 55 years. Talk about commitment!

Their website says: "Can you imagine a greater goal for one’s life? It is a constant mind-set of kindness every day of your life for the next fifty-five years. Doing for others and kindness in your heart for everyone. It is my wish that you will dedicate your life to a charity… finding the passion in your heart for something or someone in need."

I love that they are getting the word out there, one bus stop at a time.



Click here to visit the One Million Acts of Kindness website.

Bob and Bogart are my heroes! I'd love to travel the country spreading kindness! I'm starting to think that maybe my little Toyota Matrix needs a new paint job. :)

Do you have a NICE:Testimonial that you'd like to share? If so, click here to send me an email!

NICE Assignment: My 2010 Mantra

Hi guys! So you can see I disappeared for the holidays. I wanted to focus on the time I was spending with my husband, family, and friends, so I took a little break from the blog world. And now look! It's 2010! Can you believe it? I feel like each year sneaks up on me faster than the previous one. Does that mean I'm getting older? :)

Last year, my first NICE Assignment for 2009 was to Create a Mantra. The phrase I came up with was "Have fun and be nice." I wanted to push myself to do things. Avoid the powerful magnetic draw of the comfy couch and trash TV! Get out there and enjoy life!

I'd have to say I accomplished this. I did so much stuff in 2009. From concerts to trips to film festivals to lectures to parties. Rob and I were non-stop. Sometimes to the point of exhaustion! But it was completely worth it. I have so many fantastic memories from this past year, and I don't plan on stopping either!

NICE Assignment: My 2010 Mantra
Thinking forward to 2010, I thought it would be helpful to try out a new mantra. As some of you know, I've been having trouble with motivation lately. I feel as if I've become complacent with this blog, my hobbies, my home, my dreams. I really need to reflect on what is important to me. Simplifying my life might help quite a bit.

There is one thing that I love that I kind of dabbled in for a month or two in 2009 before my laziness took over, and that's fostering my creativity. I got back to sketching, but eventually put too much pressure on myself and gave up back in early September. Well, 2010 is going to be my year! I'm going to draw regularly. I'm taking a Book Arts class starting January 21. I'm going to visit museums. Basically, I plan on doing everything I can to keep creativity alive in my life. So here is my mantra:

Create and inspire.

Simple. These were actually the two words I wanted tattooed in the insides of my wrists as reminders of how I want to live my life. I want to always be creating. And hopefully I'll also inspire others through my art, my words, this blog, etc. I have quite a few goals for 2010, but I feel like if I can stick with this mantra, it will be a fantastic year!

So what's your mantra for the year? Has it changed?