I did my assignment!

On my way into work, I stopped at the grocery store to buy treats for the day. Then I sat in my car in the parking garage putting together little goodie bags for my friends at Starbucks, who provide me with liquid sunshine every weekday morning. And I also made three bags for my fantastic coworkers, who I couldn't be more grateful for.



For some bizarre reason, I'm always nervous doing things like this. Hey, if someone handed me a bag of candy, they'd be my new best friend. But I don't know, my social anxiety kicks in and I honestly almost chickened out. But when I was at the register, I pulled out the bags and just went for it. After I left Starbucks, I had the biggest smile on my face! I should really do that kind of thing more often!

NICE Testimonial: Let's Not Judge

I received an email yesterday from NICE photographer Beth with a link to a blog post she wrote a few days ago. It is so lovely, beautiful, meaningful, introspective (and more!) that I had to share it.

It's easy to dismiss people based upon their appearances. I still have inner issues from my nerdy childhood. People didn't take the time to get to know me. And even now, I sometimes worry that my blue hair gives off the wrong kind of vibe. I'm not "disturbed" or "alternative", I just like blue. And my husband, in his fitted thermals and baseball cap might seem like a jock. Okay, he sort of is. But he's also one of the smartest people I know, but many times people don't see that in him. They don't see the guy that goes to library lectures of Iranian authors or the guy that studies books on the history of Rwanda. They see a sports nut.

As that age old cliché goes, "Don't judge a book by it's cover," because you might be missing the story of a lifetime inside.

Click here to read Beth's inspiring blog post about how she avoided judgement and had a great experience.


(image courtesy of Beth McWilliams)

NICE Assignment: Trick or Treat!

Hi everyone! Phew, it's been crazy in my world lately. I could use a break. Luckily I go to Arizona to visit some of my favorite people in the world next week! That'll be an absolute treat. It's been tough managing everything on my plate lately. I've taken a hiatus from drawing, though I'd like to get back to that soon. I've cut back on my posting here, which I'm sure you've noticed. And I've definitely cut back on chores, much to my husband's dismay. :) But as I've been saying for the last few years, I just need to get through the next couple days!

So here's a belated assignment for you!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays! I absolutely love dressing up. Not to mention the fact that I also absolutely love Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. But any excuse to play make believe is a good one. Last year I was a Peta victim. The year before that I was Björk. And the year before that I was a Robert Palmer video girl. This year I'll be showing less leg. :)

Today's Assignment: Trick or Treat!

Another one of my favorite parts about Halloween is giving out treats. Unfortunately, my neighborhood doesn't get many trick or treaters, so I might have to go on the offense to find people to treat. That may be my coworkers, my mailman, my Starbucks baristas. Since I always buy far too much candy and I don't feel like gaining ten pounds or ten cavities, I thought it'd be nice to use some of it to surprise those people in my life that deserve a little treat.

And as a treat to you, here's a free download of some Halloween notes that you can attach to your goodies!



If you decide to play along this week, I'd love to see pictures of your treats or hear stories about how the assignment went!

Happy treating!

NICE Campaign: The Responsibility Project

Where the heck have I been?! Sorry for abandoning you guys. I've been swamped. I know, that's always my excuse, right? Well, I'm so glad you keep popping by anyway!

So the other day, I was catching up on some missed TV, and I ended up watching the premier of 30 Rock, one of my favorite shows. During the commercial breaks, they showed an animation written by Jack McBrayer, who plays Kenneth on the show. He and four other NBC stars, created a series of short films for Liberty Mutual's Responsibility Project.

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

The Responsibility Project began as Liberty Mutual's response to the attention they received from their commercial, which happens to be one of my favorites.

Click here to see the commercial.

Seeing this commercial always puts a smile on my face! And it reminds me so much of this blog. :)

Blog Action Day 09: Climate Change

I know it's a little later than usual, but today is Blog Action Day, and I couldn't let October 15th pass me by without a post about this year's topic, climate change.

When I was in grade school, I got the book "50 Ways Kids Can Save the World." I started cutting up plastic rings from Coke cans, putting soda bottles in our toilets, and begging my father to stop using Aquanet so abundantly. But somewhere on my journey to adulthood, I forgot about the earth-conscious Melissa of my youth. Helping the environment took a back seat to convenience.

Sure, we recycle. In fact, if my husband and I are out in an area without a recycle bin, he will bring the plastic bottle home with us. And yeah, we have fuel efficient cars and put on water-saving shower heads. But that's not much of a sacrifice. Maybe today is the day to start thinking, "What else?" Meaning, what else can I do to help join the global fight against climate change?

I thought I had mentioned this book here in the past, but I couldn't find the post, so if I have, forgive me! I think that New Day Revolution by the fine folks of Cool People Care might be the "50 Ways Kids Can Save the World" of my adulthood.

This book is full of helpful tips that even the laziest environmentalist can use. For example:

• Replace your incandescent bulbs with florescent ones - done!
• When cooking, don't use a pan bigger than you need - never thought of that
• Buy green power, check your utility bill for details - we've been wanting to do this for a while
• If you forget your reusable shopping bag, be sure to recycle your plastic one - I save mine for this reason, just need to drop them off at my grocery store
• Bring reusable utensils with your lunch - I am guilty of abusing plastic utensils
• Fully inflating your car tires makes your fuel last longer - gotta do that soon

And there is so much more helpful advice! Things that you might never consider but are actually easy habits to form. I highly recommend you check out New Day Revolution and start making little changes in your life to benefit the earth in honor of Blog Action Day!

NICE Assignment: Laugh a Lot!

I came across this article via a tweet from fellow RAOKA member, Dani from Positively Present. It's called Laughter IS The Best Medicine and explains all of the benefits from experiencing a laugh, chuckle, chortle, crack up, or yuk. As if we really need an excuse to bust out laughing. :)

No one can make me laugh quite like my husband, Rob. Here he is making me crack up to the point of tears at a black tie gala a few years ago. To be honest, I was feeling kind of crummy today, but after looking at this picture, I couldn't help but feel the hilarity I was experiencing at the time this photo was taken. Hey, maybe there really is something to this whole "laughing" thing.

In that case...

Today's Assignment: Laugh a Lot!

The article has a few tips to help increase your ability to laugh, from spending time with children to playing games with friends. All great ideas! But I'm calling on you guys! I want to know what makes you laugh. Is there a youtube clip that cracks you up every time you see it? Or a website? Or a joke? Share it in the comments and I'll continue to add them to the bottom of this post.

I'll start with a few of my favorites.

An oldie but goodie...the laughing babies:

This video reminds me of me and Rob:

Weekend Plans - watch more funny videos

And one of my favorites, Steven Wright:

Let's make each other laugh!

From readers:
Gayze has a really silly joke in the comments, be sure to check it out! :)
From Melissa: A hilarious Twitter account (warning: explicit language)
From Cristie: A video all about laughing!
From Elizabethflew: Overheard in NY, Catherine Tate and David Tennant, and of course, can't go wrong with LOLCats!

Announcing: RAOKA!

After forming this little blog o' mine last year, I discovered a slew of other sites in the blogosphere dedicated to niceness. Awesome! So I wasn't the only one! Well, one of those lovely people, Sami, from Life, Laughs & Lemmings sent me an email about participating in a nice-blogging-supergroup. How could I say no??

She was calling the group RAOKA, or Random Acts of Kick Arse. Heck yes. Here's the premise. By joining forces around a particular theme each month, we'll be performing positive acts and sharing them with you all, our readers. You can see how we each interpreted the theme and even play along if you're so inclined! Actually, I hope you'll help me out by coming up with creative ways to demonstrate each theme.

The Players
Lance from Jungle of Life
Lori from Jane Be Nimble
Dani from Positively Present
Brandi from Joy Rebel
Sami from Life, Laughs & Lemmings

The Project
The theme for this month is KINDNESS. A good way to ease into this project. So what does this mean? Maybe I should leave nice notes around town? Maybe I should send out cards to loved ones? Maybe I should volunteer my time? I'm embarking on a month-long kindness journey. What do you suggest I do?

I'd like to take your suggestions in the comments on this post and create a 10 item to-do list that I need to get through. And as I make my way through the list, I'll document my experiences and share them with you on the big culmination day, November 4th, when we all post about our month of kindness. And maybe if you're up for it, you can work through the list yourself!

So c'mon, help me kick some arse!

NICE News: Facebook Measures "Gross National Happiness"

I saw this on Twitter and had to share. Facebook has created a new app that measures the happiness levels of users based on terminology in status updates. Technology is amazing, huh? :)

Fast Company Infographic of the Day: Facebook Measures "Gross National Happiness"
TechCrunch Article


So, Monday's are a bummer. Big shock. But I wouldn't have guessed that Thanksgiving was the happiest of days. I suppose we're all updating our statuses with what we're thankful for.

I admit, I tend to complain a lot via my Facebook status. I even started posting something last night about what a difficult day today was going to be, but at the last minute I realized how negative that sounded and changed my mind. But as someone who "encourages kindness" and "positivity", shouldn't I be practicing what I preach? Maybe it's time to tone down the Debbie Downer attitude and make every day Thanksgiving!

When I wake up in the morning, I hop online to check my email, the weather, Facebook, and the news. What if I decided to make it a habit to start every day with the status "Melissa Morris Ivone is thankful for...[insert happy thought]...today." I like it! If I'm lucky, my positive attitude might wear off on someone else instead of infecting everyone with my whining.

I think it's time to bring the Gross National (or International) Happiness up to a new level!

NICE Assignment: Be F&*%ing Awesome!

Hi guys! Did you all have a great weekend? I did! My stylist asked if I'd like to pose for her salon's look book, and if I agreed, I'd get a free cut and color. Awesome! So of course I said yes, and on Saturday I was at the salon for over 6 hours having this done to my hair and trying on outfits for the October 19th photo shoot. :) It's so kick ass!

Under the fluorescent lights of my office, the blue blends into the black so it's not quite as noticeable. I suppose that's a good thing since I work for a fairly conservative company. But when I leave here, I can unleash my inner rock star! I do feel a little bit like a comic superhero or something. But I can work with that.

I received an email from NICE reader Mel Weiss the other day and it cracked me up, so I had to share it with you all. It feels good to do nice things for others, right? Well, sometimes we need to pat ourselves on our backs and share with the world just how awesome we are!

Today's Assignment: Be F&*%ing Awesome!

That's where Be F&*%ing Awesome comes in. (I'm censoring for you guys, but the website does not, so just be warned!) This website is a place for you to share your latest awesome deed with others. Create a profile and submit your FAdeeds. And you can rate other people's deeds, which raises their Awesome Quotient. It's like a reward system for being nice.

BFA User krd77 "hosted a happy hour for a bunch of girls that just moved to town. i met some great people and helped welcome the newbies to the area." BFA User meggraeff "adopted a puppy from the orange county animal shelter in North Carolina." BFA User rickybobby77 wrote "I called a 1800-Howsmydriving number and told them the driver was an awesome driver."

I'm sure you've all done plenty of awesome things this weekend, right? Why don't you share it with the BFA community and raise that Awesome Quotient of yours! :)

NICE Video: Validation

I had two super nice people send me the link to this video, so I knew it must be good. It's not just good, it's AMAZING! I couldn't help but get choked up by the sweetness of it all. Trust me, you will love it!