Mix Tape Winners

Hey there! Thanks to the people who agreed to play along and take on my assignment for last week! And a special thanks to Christopher, who made a mix tape for all of us right here!

I used the fancy shmancy Random Integer Generator to pick three people who will receive a mix tape (cd, actually) from here, and here are the winners!


The three winners are...

♥ JB said...
I will be making one this weekend and I'll be back to post the songs I have chosen

I just hope that whoever I give it to has a way to play it
:]

Natalie said...
Oh, I like this! My husband and I regularly make mixes for each other -- but he's been making them mostly for me. We usually just playlist back and forth until it's perfect.

Heather White said...
I have Shazam on my Iphone, so when I hear a good song, I "shazam" it so I know the artist and name of the song (or so I can remember it too). I then make a cd for my husband or daughters, I do it all the time, fun gifts! I will make another one for my neighbor, who on April 4th will be a year out of a stroke. He is doing GREAT!!

Heather, I do the Shazam thing too. :) It has come in handy so many times!

Well, congratulations! Click here to send me an email with your address and I'll mail out your mix!

NICE Assignment: Be Ordinary

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was wonderful, thanks for asking! I'm smack dab in the middle of the Philadelphia Film Festival and Cinefest, which started last Thursday and runs until Monday, April 6th. By the time it closes, I will have seen 12 films. I've seen 5 so far, and they've all been really wonderful in their own unique ways.

A while ago, one of my internet friends sent me a link to this neat website.
Ordinary People Change the World

Today's Assignment: Be Ordinary

Don't ever think that just one person can't make a difference. That's all it takes. One person. Not a celebrity or a politician. One ordinary person. On the Ordinary People Change the World website, there is a story posted that illustrates this.

A young girl was walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up during a terrible storm. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean. People watched her with amusement.

She had been doing this for some time when a man approached her and said, “Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t save all these starfish. You can’t begin to make a difference!”

The girl seemed crushed, suddenly deflated. But after a few moments, she bent down, picked up another starfish, and hurled it as far as she could into the ocean. Then she looked up at the man and replied,

“Well, I made a difference to that one!”

The old man looked at the girl inquisitively and thought about what she had done and said. Inspired, he joined the little girl in throwing starfish back into the sea. Soon others joined, and all the starfish were saved. - adapted from the Star Thrower by Loren C. Eiseley

If you visit Ordinary People Change the World, you can find ways to make a difference, like donating one dollar to City Year, a youth service corps for young adults. Sure, your dollar might not seem so grand, but it will be adding to their goal of $1 million, which can make a huge difference.

So go ahead, have a look around the Ordinary People Change the World website and see what you can do to be ordinary. :)

NICE Chit Chat: Paying Compliments

There were some interesting questions brought up in the comments section of yesterday's post, and I just wanted to put them out there and see what you all think.

First, Tammy had asked, "Do you guys find it easier to compliment women than men? I do and I was wondering if that was universal..."

I'd say definitely. And usually it's because I'm coveting something like their bag or their shoes or their hairstyle or what have you. And it's particularly easier to compliment female strangers over male strangers because you don't want someone to get the wrong idea.

And Christopher was thinking the same thing I was because he asked,
"Is there any way for guys to do this without seeming creepy? I would do this all the time if women didn't think I was hitting on them."


My husband and I were talking about this last night. I said that I don't think I would be put off if any of my male coworkers told me I looked nice or complimented my hair or outfit or whatever. I would love it! If a stranger did it, I suppose it would depend on the compliment. A guy in a sandwich shop stopped me to tell me he liked my bag, which I thought was pretty cool! But I also had a gas station attendant (years ago) tell me that I had perfect lips. Kinda creepy. Then once a guy at a fast food window told me I should be a model (which made me laugh uncontrollably), but I thought that was sweet.

I'm thinking it's probably rare occasion where a woman wouldn't appreciate a compliment, from a man or a woman. But I want to hear what you all think! And what about women complimenting men? Do you think men will take that the wrong way? Let's discuss!

NICE Testimonial: YOU Are Beautiful!

Today's Testimonial comes from Philadelphia-area lovely lady Lauren of Something Glorious. She wrote on her blog about the significance of a simple compliment, and she wanted to pass her story along to all of you!

It all started about 2 years ago, when I walked into a little cafe' here on the Main Line. I'd ordered a coffee and a breakfast sandwich, and as I stood at the counter waiting for my bacon, egg and cheese goodness to come off the grill, one of the girls behind the counter turned to me and said, "You have such beautiful skin." Five simple words, and yet they amounted to a grand kindness. I think I blushed, and I probably stuttered a little in thanking her. But obviously, it made an impression. It made my day, and it has since come back into my mind from time-to-time, and helped to rescue me from bouts of self scrutiny and my relentless insecurities.

So it is, in light of that experience, that I try to make a habit of telling random women that they are beautiful. The cashier at Whole Foods with the genuine and unrestrained smile, and dimples that are to-die-for. The woman with the dark and mesmerizing eyes who gives me a pedicure. The girl at the drive-through with the stunning red hair. And of course, my dearest friends, who will probably never fully grasp their own beauty, inside or out. I like to hope that in some small way, my words to them make a difference, an impression. That they recall the sister-stranger who told them they were beautiful, and feel emboldened in this unforgiving "nip-and-tuck" nation of Photoshopped faces and narrow, singular standards of beauty that exclude so many.

Yesterday, I was walking the streets of my friend's urban, river-front neighborhood, in search of photo opportunities for a class project. As I entered the park, an SUV that was exiting slowed to a stop. The woman inside rolled down her window and yelled out to me, "You look so pretty today. Have a beautiful day!" Thank you, Sister-Stranger. I am certain that I will never forget you, or your bold kindness to me. The world and its women need more of us, and more of these reminders.

Lauren is quite the inspiration! I mentioned to her that I have trouble vocalizing my compliments sometimes, though I'm always thinking them in my head. ("That barista has such lovely hair!") I need to be bolder because, seriously, would WOULDN'T want to receive a compliment??

By the way, have I told you how fantastic you look today? ;)

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

NICE News: A REAL Superhero

One of my HOW Design Forum friends, Nate, just emailed me this news article, and it is so wonderful that I had to post it right away.

Warning: Have Tissues Handy

Fireman dresses as Spider-Man to rescue boy

BANGKOK - A Thai firefighter dressed as Spider-Man to rescue an autistic boy who climbed onto a third-floor balcony and dangled his legs over the side because he was nervous on his first day of school.

Firefighter Somchai Yoosabai was called in after the 11-year-old boy's teachers and mother failed to coax him off the ledge on Monday, he said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

"He was nervous about the first day at school, and he was asking for his mother," Somchai said. "He cried and refused to let any of us get close to him."

Click here to read the rest of this story.

NICE Person of the Week: Emma Jane Coe

Time for another NICE Person of the Week! I should just make this a Wednesday feature from now on. :) Obviously my ambitions of Tuesday are a little outside my reach!

Today's NICE Person comes from one of my favorite stationery designers, Pumpkin Petunia, better known as Jo-Ann Coe. Jo-Ann nominated her 7-year-old daughter, Emma Jane.

What makes Emma Jane so NICE:

Emma Jane is a girl who is always willing to help. Always. She shows compassion and empathy for people, both children and adults, on a daily basis. Whether it just be a kind word to a friend, an offer to help her brother with a chore so he's not late for baseball practice or noticing that an elderly neighbor's paper was delivered and bringing it to the door for her because she knows it's hard for the older woman to bend down and pick it up. I know this sounds like a mother overly enthusiastic about her child, but this really is a true description of who Emma Jane is. She is a kind heart.

I recently blogged about an exchange that I had with Emma Jane recently. I think this gives a glimpse into the kind heart of my little girl.

Emma Jane is very much a girly girl. She loves all things pretty and stylish and she really loves dolls. Specifically, American Girl dolls. She loves the books and the outfits, primping their hair, accessorizing - everything about them. Lucky for her, she has two aunties who are more than willing to indulge this love affair with all things American Girl. A day or two after Christmas, Emma Jane was playing with her newest American Girl doll and all of her accompanying accessories when I sat down next to her to take a peek at the new stuff.

As I was fussing with the new doll, Emma Jane's face changed. She didn't quite look sad, but I couldn't identify the expression so I asked her what was up. At first she resisted answering, but then she said that she felt a little guilty for having so many American Girl dolls when some children do not have any. This, of course, prompted a discussion about how she is definitely very lucky for all the things that she has, but she doesn't need to feel guilty that the people who love her take great joy in buying her presents sometimes and as long as she doesn't expect or demand things, she has nothing to feel badly about. She was very happy to hear that she could play guilt-free, but she still had that look. She then said that she would like to buy an American Girl doll for a little girl that was not lucky enough to afford one and her face immediately brightened.

So, the plan is that she has 10 months to save $100 (not the exact amount, but I wanted her to be able to do the math on her own) and by November 1st she will have enough to buy a doll for a girl in need. We now have a decorated jar on our kitchen counter that already contains about $30. Seems that my girl is not only a saver, but also quite the fundraiser as well. We have told her that most of the money needs to be saved by her, but if family members want to make small donations, that is fine too. Fueled by this early success, she has now set her sights on buying dolls for two little girls!

It has been two months since Emma Jane started her savings for an American Girl Doll. She has done so well that we have refined her plan. She will donate one doll, with some extra accessories to Birthday Wishes some time this summer. This is an organization that provides Birthday Parties to children in shelters. She does not know this yet, but I am going to pitch in and donate to entire party. Then come Christmas, she will purchase another doll to the Home for Little Wanderers who matches donors with children who have specific wishes for Christmas. This way the child who receives the American Girl doll will have asked for a doll for Christmas. Emma Jane and I have talked about how the girls who receive the AG doll will likely not have asked for an American Girl doll specifically because owning one is so far out of there frame of reference that they likely would never dare to dream of such a doll. I was going to suggest that maybe we buy several less expensive dolls to spread the joy to more children, but I never did suggest that. It was Emma Jane's response that made me stick to the original plan.

When I mentioned that the girl that receives the doll would likely never dare to dream of receiving one, Emma Jane rolled her eyes as a 7 year-old girl will do and said, "Mommy, that's why I want to buy her one!" I guess you can't argue with that.

Well, like mother like daughter! Obviously it seems like Emma Jane is learning NICE from the best of them! Way to go! To have the desire to help others at such a young age is remarkable. Jo-Ann, you'll have to give us the update as the project goes on! I know Emma Jane is going to do more wonderful things that we need to hear about.

Do you have someone that you'd like to nominate as the NICE Person of the Week? If so, CLICK HERE for more details.

NICE Assignment: Make a Mix Tape

Before I get into this week's assignment, I wanted to mention my delayed postings. I'm going through a busy spell at work which probably won't end until the third week of April (counting the days!), so I haven't been as regular. On top of that, the Philadelphia Film Festival starts on Thursday, so I'll be seeing 12 movies in 12 days. I'm a little nervous about burn out! But obviously Operation NICE is a big priority of mine. I've decided to alter my schedule a little bit so I can wake up 30-45 minutes earlier each day, in hopes of knocking out a post in my half-groggy state. :) Let's see how this works out!

Onto the assignment!

I was looking through my cd collection the other day. I bought new iPod Classic, so I'm trying to load everything I own on there. Ambitious, I know. But I came across a mix cd that I made for my husband, nearly 8 years ago, filled with love songs and songs that reminded me of him. Cute, right? Then I thought about the mix tapes (yes, cassette tapes) that he had made for me when we started dating.

It was always so fun, waiting for the next song to start, wondering what treasure might await. Knowing that another person looked through their musical collection with YOU in mind.

Today's Assignment: Make a Mix Tape (or CD)

I think it's ready for a comeback, if it even went away in the first place. Do you ever listen to your music library and think about how certain songs remind you of certain people? Burn 'em to a disc, label it "So and So's Mix", and pass it along! It's fun, it's easy, and it'll be appreciated. Make a mix for your mom, your coworker, your loved one, whoever!

There's even a wikiHow on how to make the perfect mix tape, if you need some tips.

And I'll tell you what. If you'd like to participate, leave a comment here letting me know that you promise to make a mix tape for someone in your life. I'll randomly draw three comments and I'll send you a mix tape (CD) of my own! Drawing will take place next Monday, March 30th. So get mixin'!

NICE Testimonial: Friday Two-fer

Hi there! Happy Friday to you all! I have been absolutely swamped with deadlines lately, which is why my posting has been suffering. I figured I owed you all, so here's a Testimonial Two-fer! Not just one delightful story, but TWO to warm your heart!

The first comes from Genevieve Bowmaster. She recently encountered a true gentleman!

yesterday was ash wednesday. i went to the 7pm mass to get my ashes. there were so many people there! it was worse-than-christmas crowded! i got there about five minutes prior to mass starting, and there were no empty seats, so i stood in the back. within five to ten minutes, i was not alone. there were many other people trying to crowd in the back areas, a lot of them young women, alone, with their infants [we live in a military town, there are lots of dads away, as you can imagine.]

a few minutes into mass, a man approached me, and offered me the seats that he and his young son had just vacated. i was very touched! but i was alone, and was fine with standing in the back, which i told him. he spoke to the lady standing next to me, and she and her baby son were very happy to take the spot in the pew. he was the only one that i saw to give up his spot to anyone else. he and i stood next to each other for the rest of the mass, and i found out that he is a retired Marine. i wish i would have thanked him more for being so nice, but being married to a Marine, i know how they hate that kind of attention. so i thought i'd share it with everyone else! it's amazing how one little nice gesture can make your day great. i'm sure that lady really appreciated it, and that Marine set a great example for his son, and for me as well.

The second testimonial for today comes from the kind-hearted Shanon Langlie. In doing a nice deed, she received an unexpected reward.

Two years ago I started a new holiday tradition--for each of the 25 Days of Christmas, I tried to do something to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. I usually spend one evening ringing the bell for the Salvation Army. This current Minnesota winter has been colder than most and the night I was scheduled to ring the bell the temperature was a balmy -20 degrees (+ windchill). My hour long shift went by very slowly and toward the end of my shift I dropped the bells twice because I couldn't feel my fingers! But people were very generous and kind to me.

As one woman and her 6 year old daughter approached me, I heard the girl ask her mother why I was ringing the bell? The mother smiled, put a $10 in the kettle, and replied, "Because she is making a difference." 

Those words brought tears to my eyes and warmed me to the core.

I hope you enjoyed these stories as much as I did! Have a stupendous weekend!

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

Happy Birthday to the SCOOP!

Even though I will be decreasing my chances of winning by posting this, I couldn't help but let you know about the NICE giveaway going on at the SCOOP in honor of their 2nd birthday! Mainly because they are promoting my favorite theme, niceness!

Check it out here!

They are giving away some fabulous OrangeBeautiful goodies that would look perfect in a pile on my desk. Uh, I mean, good luck. All you have to do to enter, and here's my favorite part, is leave a comment with one nice thing you did today along with one nice thing that someone did for you. The only catch is that you have to comment by midnight (eastern time) tonight, which means I'd better hurry up and do something nice!

NICE News: Celebrating St. Joseph's Day

Yesterday I received an email from Sarah Karnas, the NICE Person nominator from a few weeks ago. She forwarded me this news article from The Star Tribune about a restaurateur that had a special way of celebrating March 19th, St. Joseph's Day.

John D'Agostino will open his St. Paul restaurant Sunday for the express purpose of feeding the hungry and the poor. In doing so, he's carrying on a tradition started 42 years ago by his mother, Giovanna D'Agostino, the legendary restaurateur and cookbook author who is affectionately known as Mama D.

Every March 19, Mama D celebrated the lesser-known holiday of St. Joseph's Day by honoring the patron saint of charity to the poor by serving free meals to the needy at her son's Dinkytown restaurant, Sammy D's, from the 1960s to the early 1980s. She carried on the tradition when she opened her own eatery, Mama D's Risorante Italiano in St. Paul. At times, as many as 3,500 people showed up there and at area churches that participated in the St. Joseph's Day feasts, said John D'Agostino, of Minneapolis.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Here's to Mama D!

NICE Person of the Week: Danielle Herb

I'm a day behind this week, but I didn't want to skip over this feature!

This weeks NICE Person was actually the first nomination that I had received. It came from Teen Entrepreneur Coach, Shonika Proctor, who nominated 15 year old Danielle Herb for being an amazing and kind person.

What makes Danielle so NICE:

I met Danielle this past weekend at Yanik Silver's Underground 5 Online Seminar. She had a very clever idea. She bought all these paper wallet billfolds and it had a "real slot" to put something in it. On the back of the billfold she wrote pay it forward with her website url on there. And it said to basically add something inside, a dollar, a tip, an idea or something to that effect and give it to someone else when you are in need of good energy or just as a random act of kindness and then you will be guaranteed that something good will happen to you in return. I thought it was a great concept in helping people consciously realize the power of spreading good energy as opposed to expressing frustration and anger when things don't go there way.

In addition to that, Danielle is doing more at 15 than I even imagined doing when I was her age (or now)! She developed a program to teach natural horsemanship to help children with ADD and ADHD. Take a look at this video. She is truly inspiring!

Outstanding, right? Thank you for being so NICE, Danielle! The world could use more people like you!

Do you have someone that you'd like to nominate as the NICE Person of the Week? If so, CLICK HERE for more details.

NICE Assignment: Make a Release

I'm late! I needed to spend my day yesterday recuperating, so I avoided the computer. I hope you all understand. But I had a fantastic time in Arizona, thanks to my amazing girlfriends, Maria and Amy, and their families!

But now it's back to the daily grind. And back to the daily posts. I have lots of catching up to do!

So yesterday Rob and I stopped at Barnes and Noble, and lying on one of the tables in the front was the book Secrets of Simplicity by Mary Carlomagno. I felt as if a spotlight was shining on it as I walked past. It's a workbook of sorts, aimed to help you focus on the important pieces of life while ridding yourself of the clutter that distracts you. I'm sure you've noticed how I've mentioned that my life has been nothing short of overwhelming lately, so I thought this book might be able to help.

The more I paged through it, the more it seemed to relate to me. The obsessive shopping. The inability to say no. The ever-growing piles of useless stuff. Hey, that's me! So I bought it (there's that obsessive shopping again), and I started last night.

The first few pages discuss release. Letting go of distractions. It talks about lent, and the idea of giving something up, which teaches us self-control. I've never been very good at that. Then I turned the page to see a page for me to fill out, asking me to release something.

Today's Assignment: Make a Release
Taking on more and more responsibilities or rituals or habits only make life busier. So while I can say something like, "I need to relax more, so I'm going to start giving myself pedicures every week, and drink a glass of wine at night, and spend an hour a day reading," that will only make things worse. I need to release the parts of my life that distract me from the things that I love. But I needed to start small.

So starting today, for (at least) one month, I'm giving up trashy gossip blogs. It's a guilty pleasure, I admit. I got into the habit of checking them multiple times a day, reading about celebrities that have no effect on my life. Why? I have no idea. But I do know that I was making excuses for not keeping in touch with the people I love. So in the workbook, where it asked me what I'm going to replace this time with, I wrote, "Communicating with family and friends." Now I'll have that extra 20 minutes to jot a quick email to a friend and that extra 15 minutes to call my grandfather. No more excuses.

I think this small purge could be a great thing! Anyone care to join me? Have you been feeling like there aren't enough hours in the day? Is there something that you can rid your life of that will give you more time for the important things? Let me know what it is!

"See" you next week!

Hey guys! I'm flying out to Arizona for a long weekend spent with two of my best girl friends, so there won't be any posts today or tomorrow, other than this one of course. Don't worry, I promise to be nice while I'm away. (That doesn't mean I'll be good, but I'll definitely be nice!)

Have a wonderful weekend!

NICE Site: The Bright Side Project

I mentioned this project back at the beginning of February, but it has grown and evolved, so it deserves another mention. The marvelous Tristan is back at it again, bringing the bright side to you, and this time with it's own domain name!

The Bright Side Project



"The Bright Side Project is here to bring you a little metaphorical sunshine every day, to help you stop for a second and remember life is (still) beautiful and there is goodness in the world."

The last round of The Bright Side Project featured 28 amazing artists, and this month is just as exciting, featuring the work of accessory designers. Want to know my favorite part about the project?? The questions! I have had a blast pondering these questions posed by the artists/designers, such as "If you were given one 'do over' in your life, what would it be?" or "If you could meet anyone from the past who is inspirational to you, who would it be, and why?" They get me thinking about these old memories, and almost 100% of the time I'm left with a smile on my face!

Oh yeah, and did I mention you could win some incredible stuff?? Uh yeah, like this INCREDIBLE piece that I was lucky enough to win from prettyfnmess! (It features an Elliott Smith quote, which makes it that much more awesome.)



So go ahead! Look on The Bright Side!

NICE News: Free Resumé Copies from FedEx

Liz over at A Box Living sent me this link yesterday.

Spruce up your résumé for FedEx’s free copies day

In summary, due to the tragic unemployment rate of the U.S., FedEx Office (formerly FedEx Kinkos) is offering up to 25 free resumé copies today, March 10th, during regular business hours. As Liz said in her email, "How nice for a corporate company to provide this service!" Definitely.

NICE Person of the Week: Brian Carter

Thanks for everyone's nominations so far for the NICE Person of the Week! I have a little inbox subfolder where I'm keeping all of your emails, so even if I don't pick your nominee this week, I might next week or the week after, etc. Keep 'em coming!

This week's NICE Person was submitted by Maria Pergolino of good old Philadelphia. I liked her nomination because it was a different way of looking at kindness, and I thought Brian Carter was a perfect fit.

What makes Brian so NICE:

This isn’t your typical description of ‘NICE’. I mean, I know Brian loves his grandmom as he visits and talks about her often. Even Tweets about her. And while I’m sure he recycles, donates time and money, and everything else that I typically consider NICE, he does something more. Brian goes out of his way for people with almost every free second of his day. He communicates with people for more than his own benefit. This person takes the time to help people with their projects, questions, ideas, etc. hundreds of times a day. And for one simple reason. They ask.

Brian works in search and social media. Primarily he is responsible for a number of large Pay-Per-Click programs, and keeps up-to-date on his craft via the web including blogs and social sites like Twitter. Doing so he has acquired over 16,000 followers on Twitter alone. Every day hundreds of people retweet him, reply to him, direct message him, leave notes for him on blogs, and more. He takes the time to reply to each one of them. Even if it’s a technical question. Even if it’s 1:30am. Even if it’s just to say thank you.

He does this because he thinks it’s the right thing to do. To engage people. Let them know he is listening. And to help them. He talks about it here in this blog article.

The interesting thing is what he is doing is the same as what we should be doing every day. He’s virtually holding a door, helping someone cross the street, saying good morning. The difference is he’s doing it online. If more people did this online, and in their everyday lives, like Brian, this world would be a better and happier place. I’m glad he is so NICE.

Brian sounds pretty amazing! I have a lot to learn from him, considering I have trouble keeping up with emails alone, let alone Tweets, and I'm sure I have nowhere near the amount he does. So I'm going to try to learn a lesson from Brian and do a better job at being available, keeping in contact, engaging others. It really is the NICE thing to do! Great nomination Maria!

Do you have someone that you'd like to nominate as the NICE Person of the Week? If so, CLICK HERE for more details.

NICE Assignment: Make a Child Smile

Hi everyone! Sorry about the missing Friday post. My sickness reared its ugly head and pounded me with a terrible migraine. Unfortunately doing anything except sleeping was too painful. I was able to recuperate for the most part this weekend, so let's hope the worst of it is over!

But let's get back on track. It's Monday, which means it's assignment day! And I found a great one for you guys. The organization Make a Child Smile was founded in May 1998 by Alexandra Bakker as a program to send mail and care packages to sick children. As she explains, "Doesn't take much time, doesn't cost much money and WHO DOESN'T LOVE TO GET MAIL (other than bills!!)??? Even we adults do, imagine a little kid?? And I am talking about REAL mail... A card that someone took the time to buy or create." So true.

Today's Assignment: Make a Child Smile

All you have to do is visit this page to see the list of children currently registered with Make a Child Smile. Click on the little "Page" icon to the left of their name where you can read a little bit about that child and find their address. Then, send them a little something to brighten their day!

Here are some simple DO's and DON'Ts from the website to help you out:

DON'Ts
Please try not to say: "Get well soon", "Get better" or anything similar, as some kids have illnesses with no known cure and sadly will not get better.

Avoid adding Bible verses or any mention of religion as our kids have different beliefs.

Do not mail candy to the kids or anything edible, as some kids have various types of allergies.

Do not add confetti and glitter inside envelopes/packages. Though that's very cute, it's a HUGE mess to clean up once a child rip-opens an envelope/package and everything goes all over the place, especially if they are on a hospital bed.

DO's
You can say: "Wishing you well", "Praying for you", "Thinking of you"...

Send cheery mail... you're supposed to "make a child smile", remember?? You can write something funny on your card, maybe a joke or something funny that happened to you.

Write about you and your family, send pictures of your family, pets, vacations, describing where you've been and what you did... tell stories! Kids LOVE stories!!

A card can be a LOT more than just the text that's already printed on there... and your signature. BE CREATIVE!!

And for additional information, check out the FAQs section. Thanks for participating!

NICE Testimonial: A Life-Changing Gift

Thanks for all your well-wishes! I'm feeling a little bit better today, so your positive vibes must be working. Keep sending 'em my way!

Last week I received this testimonial from Kris Hansen, who is the President of the Epilepsy Association of Utah. It's truly incredible.

My daughter has a severe form of epilepsy called Dravet Syndrome. She has been having seizures since she was 18 days old. Last summer we had a chance to see the world’s leading experts in Dravet Syndrome at a conference in Chicago. They also arranged appointments for a few children to meet with these amazing specialists. There is only one doctor in the US that specializes in this syndrome although there are five from Europe including Dr. Dravet. We were lucky enough to get an appointment with one of the doctors out of Europe. This particular doctor is the leading expert in medication mixing for this type of seizure disorder.

We live in Utah and didn’t really have the money due to attend due to the cost of her care. To see this doctor was an amazing opportunity and we knew that seeing her in Europe would never really be a possibility. So we asked family to help and we started to save. We threw a yard sale to raise more money. This brought in quite a bit of money.

Right at the end I had an amazing man who stopped and asked why we were doing this. I told him and he started asking more questions. He started asking enough questions that he started to freak me out a little but he eventually left. He went and borrowed my neighbors computer. He came back with a reservation confirmation for the hotel that the conference was held in, paid for in full for the entire trip for us. I only know that his name is Howard. I don't know if that is a first or last name or even if it is his real name but that was the name on the sheet.

This doctor made a difference in our lives that can't be exclaimed. She made some medication changes that help us so very much. She is now starting to learn at school and is awake for more of the day and isn't throwing fits because of the headaches she was having. I don't know who this man is/was but my life will forever be changed because of him.

It sounds like Kris has a guardian angel. How amazing that this man happened upon her garage sale, and happened to ask questions, and had the compassion and generosity to actually do something about it. This man, Howard, is a paragon of kindness. People like him are the heroes of the world.

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

No Post Today: Sickie Poo

Sorry guys, I'm a sickie poo today. I couldn't sleep a wink last night, and I took half a sick day so I could get a little bit of rest this morning, but unfortunately the sickness is still with me. Hopefully I'll be good as new tomorrow, back with a new fun post!

NICE Person of the Week: Patty Solyntjes

I am so excited to start this feature on Operation NICE! I think it'll be a lot of fun, and I hope you all enjoy it!

This week's NICE Person was submitted by Sarah Karnas of Minnesota. She nominated her mom, Patty. Say it with me, "Awwwwwwww!"

What makes Patty so NICE:

Everyone thinks that their mom is the nicest! But while my mom is the "best mom ever" and would do "anything in the world" for me, she is special because she consistently goes out of her way for others on a daily basis.

To demonstrate, here are two examples from opposite sides of the spectrum... the simple gesture and the extreme effort... both of which we know can make a big difference.

The simple gesture: Starting long before my grandma recently passed away, my mom was at the nursing home nearly every day. Spending so much time there, she really got to know the staff. On occasion, she would surprise the staff with a box of donuts or cupcakes or other treats to brighten their day. I think it was a really simple way to show them how much their hard work is appreciated when many people probably take them for granted.

The extreme effort: It is difficult to begin to express all of the details of this story, but I will try to provide enough of a summary to capture the true level of "niceness". Basically, my mother came across a listing on Craigslist from a young woman that was looking for inexpensive baby items. My mom often collects and purchases items when she comes across a good deal so that she can donate them later. So, she replied to the woman and told her that she could have the items if it matched what she needed. When the woman arrived to pick them up, they got to talking, and the woman revealed her story to my mom. She was about 7 months pregnant, and her abusive boyfriend and father of the baby had just left her. He took all of the baby items with him just to be mean, and she was left with nothing. Furthermore, her parents had cut off communication with her because they were upset that the daughter had gotten pregnant at a young age, and that the man was of a different race. Before the woman left, my mom gave her $100. She admits that she didn't entirely know whether to trust the woman, but decided that regardless of whether her story was true, she needed the money. The woman cried, making it pretty obvious that her unfortunate story was true. Anyway... the woman and my mom ended up developing a very strong friendship. My mom continued to help out in little ways here and there, provided emotional support, and welcomed her at family holidays. When the baby was born, the woman gave her the middle name "Patrice" after my mom. A really sweet tribute, I think.

This is a woman who actually shops for donations! Amazing! She is generous, gracious, and compassionate, and she's the perfect person to kick off this feature. Thank you, Patty Solyntjes! The world needs more NICE people like you! And thank you, Sarah, for sending in your nomination!

Do you have someone that you'd like to nominate as the NICE Person of the Week? If so, CLICK HERE for more details.

NICE Assignment: Get Unplugged

Good morning! It's a snowy day in my neck of the woods, and I'm sitting in my home office watching the plows go by every ten minutes or so. At least the glare off the snow is making my room nice and bright!

Usually the NICE Assignments center around being nice to other people, or even yourself, but I thought today, as I'm witnessing the beauty of mother nature, it would be a good time for an assignment about being nice to the earth. Nothing overwhelming. Just something small that we all could do more often.

Today's Assignment: Get Unplugged

My husband, Rob, has gotten me into the habit of unplugging certain items when I'm not using them. The cell phone charger, the toaster, the printer, the Wii. Each time I forget, which used to be quite often, I'd hear about how wasteful of a habit it was. And he's so right.

The article Phantom Energy: Unplug and Save from liveearth.org says the following:

Did you know that electronic devices burn excess energy when not in use?

Even when switched “off,” appliances and accessories like chargers for mobile phones, digital cameras, power tools, and television monitors continue to draw power as long as they are plugged into an outlet. This “phantom energy” use accounts for up to 10 percent of an individual’s electricity use… that could be around $200 dollars per year for a typical home.

Here are tips to combat the phantom load:

• Unplug to save money! To make it easier you can also plug all devices into a surge protector that can be clicked on and off. Real Simple states, “Sixty to 80 percent of the electricity [TVs and DVDs] use is consumed while they’re idle.” Yikes!
• Get organized! Store all chargers in one location and just retrieve when needed and return when item is fully charged. If they are plugged in, they are sucking up electricity whether charging a device or not.
• Buy energy-efficient appliances. A list of products can be found at EnergyStar.gov.

So you'll not only save energy, but you'll save some cash too. It's a win-win!

NICE Stuff: Goods for Goodness' Sake is LIVE!

Last month I told you guys about Cathe and Lara's brainchild, Goods for Goodness' Sake, an online boutique where 100% of the profits will be donated to the charity selected by the customer during checkout. Well, I'm thrilled to announce that it's now live!


I just picked up some insanely adorable paper goods, including these super sweet love themed notes designed by one of my favorite people, Lori of Marzipan Inc.


And aside from shopping, which is one of my favorite things to do, I was also helping out a deserving charity, one of my other favorite things to do! Check out the wonderful charities they selected right here.

So please, please head on over to Goods for Goodness' Sake! They are some of the nicest folks I know!