NICE Giveaway: fin + roe Holiday Cards

I am the worst when it comes to sending holiday cards. And I feel so guilty because for a while there, I was making cards! Every year I'd feel the pressure to design my own greeting, but I'd slack and procrastinate and eventually just give up on the whole darn thing.

Well, remember nice girl Lori from last Tuesday? She has generously offered to sponsor a giveaway of 25 Customized Holiday Photo cards from her shop, fin + roe!


I absolutely adore Lori's work, and this is such a fun giveaway! Although, there's a twist. Lori had a great idea. Instead of a giveaway, it's going to be giftaway! Yeah, I made up that word.

Here's the deal. Instead of entering to win the fabulous prize for yourself, you're going to be entering to win for a deserving someone. Someone who is particularly nice. :) It could be your friend, coworker, mom, husband, or even your child if you'd like! But what I want you to do is leave a comment here telling me who you are entering for and why. Who do you think deserves these 25 gorgeous custom holiday cards?

The giftaway will end next Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, at 8pm EST. Good luck to everyone!

NICE Coupon :)

In case you already stopped by this morning, check the post below again. Mimie offered up a sweet little coupon for Operation NICE readers!

NICE Giveaway #6: And the winner is!

I should have done this last night, but I ended up taking care of my poor, sick husband. And I had a feeling he'd be disappointed if I said, "Just give me ten minutes, I have to go post a blog entry!" I think he's already jealous of the love my computer gets.

So anyway, now I will be announcing the winner of the mi SPA Perfume Tumbler Candle giveaway!


Thanks to the handy dandy Random Integer Generator, the commenter that won is...


Number 45!

And that person happens to be Raspberry Stethoscope who said "mmmm the coconut lemongrass sounds great!" I agree. In fact, I ordered one up right after posting this giveaway because it just sounded way too good! Looks like Miss Stethoscope just finished school on August 9th and is now working as a Registered Nurse! AWESOME! Looks like you might need the relaxing power of that candle! Congratulations!

I just want to thank Mimie for offering to sponsor the giveaway and thanks to everyone who entered!

If you didn't win, I recommend you head on over to Mimie's shop and have a look around. With the holidays coming, Mimie's products make awesome gifts. I might buy a ton of those tin candles to have on hand as backup work gifts. You know, when you aren't sure if a coworker is going to get you a gift. :) And to entice you even more, Mimie has offered up free shipping to Operation NICE readers! Just use the code freeship4NICE when you check out.

Anyway, speaking of the holidays, I have another special treat for you guys! Instead of waiting until next Thursday for the next giveaway, I'm going to have one later today! It's a bit time sensitive, so stay tuned. And there will be a slight twist with this one. Oooh, are you excited yet???? Check back later today!

NICE Site: Something NICE

I was blog hopping the other morning and I found three buttons, run by the lovely Angela of Melbourne.

It immediately caught my eye because she had posted these pictures:



And she linked to this site, where she downloaded the "Something NICE" flyers in her photos. The tear off poster was designed by Todd Falkowsky and is available for download here.

Pretty awesome, right?? Anyone care to join me in posting a few of these around town?

HEY! Don't forget! The mi SPA Perfume Tumbler Candle giveaway ends tonight! So get your entry in!

NICE Testimonial: Wedding Gifts of Kindness

There's nothing like a wedding story to brighten your day! Of course, anyone that has had (or even been to) a wedding knows that glitches are unavoidable. My husband and I got married in Vegas a few years ago, and about 15 minutes prior to the ceremony, we realized that we (okay, I) had left the marriage certificate in the hotel room! Thankfully we were getting married in the hotel chapel, but they don't call it MGM Grand for nothing! Our dads sprinted back to the rooms to search for the certificate and arrived just in time for me to be walked down the aisle. Phew!

Well, Jolene of the Delicate Creature Blog had a little incident of her own! But kindness was abound that day!

A wedding is not only testimony to the love shared between two people, but also proof of the bond of family, friendship and community. I recently had the good fortune of discovering this when I married Nick, the love of my life, on October 18th. We received so many gifts of kindness during our journey to the altar, and there are a couple stories that are significant enough to share here.

We married in a small town about two hours from where we live in Chicago. I realized late in the morning on our wedding day that we had forgotten the rings at Nick’s condo in the city. I immediately thought to call friends who were still in Chicago to see if they could find a way into the condo with the help of a locksmith. With so many things on my mind, I had to let this one go and move forward with the day’s task list.

Little did we know that the groomsmen proactively went to a local jewelry store to see if they could find a ring to stand in for Nick’s. The shopkeeper asked if they were looking for anything special and they told the story of the forgotten rings. They found a ring priced at $100 and as one reached for his wallet, the shopkeeper said it was a worthy cause and to please take the ring for free along with her good wishes!

Thanks to our friends in the city, our rings ended up making it just in time for the ring blessing part of the ceremony. We will keep the stand-in ring as a testament to the goodness & generosity of strangers.

The second story is from our honeymoon. I had researched places to dine while in Northern California and read much about a restaurant named COOK in St Helena. Nick and I sat down for a late-lunch/early-dinner and were seated next to a white-haired and attractive older couple. Because the tables were so close, the four of us started talking about the restaurant, the dishes they had ordered, the town, etc. We found that they were locals who often dined at the restaurant and they discovered that we were newlyweds, which greatly delighted the Mrs. They finished eating shortly thereafter and upon their departure, they told us that as a honeymoon gift to the newlyweds, they had paid for our meal and we were to eat and drink whatever we like and have a great time. We were completely shocked and touched by this beautiful and unexpected gift! We’ll never be able to properly thank the couple, but we will remember to pay it forward at some point in our lives – hopefully when we are married for many moons and meet a couple just getting started in their life together.

Sounds like the good vibes were following Jolene and her new husband as they started their journey as a married couple!

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

NICE Assignment: Do Some GOOD

If you are a Starbucks addict like myself, then maybe over the last few months you've noticed the weekly GOOD Sheets on the counter. I was immediately drawn to the first one right away because of it's great design. And when I opened it to see the amazing infographics, I was hooked. Unfortunately, I usually went to Starbucks late in the day, and the GOOD Sheets were gone by the time I got there.

Well, I went to a different Starbucks today, and their GOOD rack was full, so I grabbed a copy on my way out. And when I got home, I remembered to check out the website, something I had been meaning to do for weeks. It's fantastic! According to the website, GOOD is "a collaboration of individuals, businesses, and nonprofits pushing the world forward. Since 2006 we've been making a magazine, videos, and events for people who give a damn."

Today's Assignment: Do Some GOOD
Aside from a great website, blog, and videos that are available to everyone, there is a GOOD Magazine that comes out 6 times a year. All you have to do to get a year's subscription is donate to a nonprofit of your choosing (which gets 100% of your contribution).

I normally try to avoid assignments that include spending any money since I understand how difficult times are for quite a few people out there. But the great thing about GOOD is that you can donate as little as $1 to receive the subscription.

Even if you don't feel like joining, at least check out the website for some great articles like this one about Somalia's largest refuge camp, or this one about a website that connects you with others interested in carpooling, or this one about "Park(ing) Day", a neat idea which just occurred in Philadelphia this past summer.

So go ahead! Be GOOD!

NICE News: Belated World Kindness Day

Happy Belated World Kindness Day everybody! Somehow I was looking at my calendar wrong and I thought that TODAY was the 13th. Silly me! I got it completely wrong! But I can't go without mentioning it, so I think today would be a good time to celebrate Belated World Kindness Day. :) Sorry for dropping the ball on this one!!

Let's pretend I wrote this yesterday. Uh, I mean, I did write this yesterday. I mean today. Um....oh, forget it.

November 13th was decreed World Kindness Day because it "was the opening day of the first World Kindness Movement® conference held at Tokyo in 1998, and the 35th anniversary of the Small Kindness Movement of Japan, which brought the signatories of the ‘declaration of kindness’ of the World Kindness Movement together in 1997." Read more about it here.

I really liked this section from the website:
We can be co-creators of a better world, and we can have a positive effect on world peace, when we bring order into our lives. Be what you want the world to be. Is that difficult? Only if you think it is! When we accept the reality that we can create positive change, we move beyond ourselves, our limitations, our doubts, and realise our infinite power. Anthropologist Margaret Mead said, Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.

PBS.org has their tips for 10 ways to celebrate World Kindness Day. Aside from being a day late, I think these are things that could be done ANY day!

1. Leave something special on the neighbor's doorstep. Flowers, a baked good, an invitation to share a meal.
2. Make your kid's bed. Do the one chore your kid hates the most for him/her.
3. Make a contribution toward this very important fund. Change and one dollar bills from piggy banks count too.
4. Write a thank you or draw a picture for someone you love. Tell them what you love about them and thank them for being themselves.
5. Pay the toll for the car behind you, let your child give the money from the back window.
6. Pick up some trash. Spend an hour cleaning up a park, school, or even your neighborhood.
7. Make Hope Notes together as a family and spread them all over your city or town.
8. Try to smile at 10 people today.
9. Visit a grandparent or elderly friend.
10. Start an Acts of Kindness list.

Let's make every day a "kindness" day! What do you say?

NICE Photo: Nice in Rome

Julia of Share World Love emailed me this photo last night that her friend had taken while in Rome!


Hmm, I think I should go to Rome and check this out. You know, for research.

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

NICE Giveaway: mi SPA Perfume Tumbler Candle

I know that Thursday is your favorite day because that means it's giveaway time! You're going to love this one!

I have been drooling over Mimie's shop for years now, since I entered the craft world with my little (now on hiatus) paper good shop. So you can imagine my excitement when she contacted me about doing a giveaway! Her products are so luxurious. And as someone who can't afford to pick up and head to the spa on a whim, (hello crashing economy!) mi™ products are the perfect solution.

I think she says it best here:
With mi™, creating harmony and enhancing natural beauty begins with a transformation of the body and its surrounding. Continuing with the Asian tradition of tending to the body, make mi™ your daily ritual for body and mind rejuvenation. Treat yourself to a rewarding regimen of extravagant spa-like pampering for some well-earned “mi” time.

Ahh, that sounds so good! Well, one lucky reader will be able to kick off their "mi" time with a fantastic Perfume Tumbler Candle which burns for over 40 relaxing hours! Considering I get to relax about one hour a week, that's 40 weeks of relaxation!


The contest will end on Wednesday, November 19th at 8pm EST. All you have to do to enter to win is leave a comment here and let me know which mi SPA Perfume Tumbler Candle scent you'd like to relax to. My pick is the Coconut Lemongrass. I feel calmer just thinking about it.

Good luck!

NICE News: Are you rude?

Two readers (Amanda and Kathryn) kindly forwarded me this cnn.com article yesterday. It's about an article in "O, The Oprah Magazine" where Oprah asked Jerry Seinfeld what his biggest pet peeve was. His response was the lack of civility in society today. I couldn't agree more!

From the cnn.com article:
Fed up with the rude behavior you experience day in and day out? Is it aggressive driving, co-workers who don't wash their hands or smokers who use the sidewalk as their personal ashtrays?

What about the sales clerks who ignore you -- then act like they own the store when you finally get their attention?

It's time for a return to civility!

I thought this stat from the article was pretty hilarious: "Eighty percent of Americans think rudeness is a serious national problem, but 99 percent of the same people say that they themselves are not rude."

How rude are you? Take the quiz and find out!

Honestly, I'm fairly rude. I admit that I am attached to my iPhone, and I use it at restaurants or at my friends' homes. And I'm terrible with returning phone calls and rsvp-ing on time. What are your areas of improvement?

This is kind of perfect timing because the article mentions Dr. P.M. Forni, who co-founded the Johns Hopkins Civility Project in 1997. Dr. Forni wrote "Choosing Civility: The 25 Rules of Considerate Conduct" which happens to be the book I'm currently reading! Crazy coincidence!

Some of the topics covered in the book are the following: Think Twice Before Asking Favors, Give Constructive Criticism, Refrain from Idle Complaints, Respect Others' Opinions, Don't Shift Responsibility and Blame, Care for Your Guests, Accept and Give Praise. I only started it recently, but I've already gone to town with my highlighter.

So let me know your thoughts. Is rudeness a huge problem? Is overcoming rudeness easier said than done? Do you agree with the article's points about dealing with people in the service industry? I'd love to hear what you think!