Making Friends

A ball pit was set up on the sidewalk. A sign said “take a seat, find a friend.” There were different questions inside of the balls for them to ask each other. If you have a couple of minutes, this is very cute, and quite touching!


http://www.upworthy.com/you-ll-never-believe-what-these-adults-found-in-this-ball-pit-2

Funny Face

These facial expressions are priceless:

http://imgur.com/gallery/Qni9U

Beginning today...

http://happytoinspire.blogspot.ca/2012/06/quote-of-day-what-if-everybody-will-be.html

Think about how much this would change your interactions with the people you love, and even with strangers! We should all try to do this as much as possible.

Elephant Shower

Hoping to make you smile this Monday.

 http://twistedsifter.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/cute-baby-elephant-5.jpg

Kindness and Gratitude

Thoughtful Thursday happens to fall on Valentine’s Day today. I plan to have a wonderful Valentine’s Day, despite being single, and despite a rough start to my day this morning. I wanted to point out some of the many, many things I am grateful for today (and some things I’m grateful for every day), and hope that those of you who don’t have a blissful, romantic holiday planned will follow in my footsteps and take a moment to think about all of the things you are grateful for.

Gratitude is something we all need a little more of in our lives. I keep a gratitude journal, although it is sometimes neglected (or forgotten), and it is wonderful to take a couple of minutes at the end of the day and concentrate only on what you are grateful for. I highly recommend either writing down what you’re grateful for, or at least taking a few minutes to think about it daily.

Today, I am grateful for many things.

First, I am grateful for my laptop, which is working now, after I had a bit of a panic last night/this morning when my charger suddenly stopped working. Luckily, it’s under warranty, and I was able to get a new one at Future Shop for free. 

I am grateful that today is one of the very rare days that I haven't had any online classes in the morning, allowing me the time to get to Future Shop to get my cord without having to miss a lesson!

Next, I am grateful for this silly little frying pan I found in my incredibly messy bedroom while cleaning yesterday. The fact that I found it on Valentine’s Eve was pretty fateful, don’t you think?

Because of this stroke of luck, I had to make pancakes this morning.

So, I am grateful for the very cute little pancakes, and for the vegan chocolate chips I had in my cupboard (saving me the extra few minutes it would have taken me to make my own). 

(I won't share the recipe, because they didn't turn out very well. But I still appreciated the cuteness!)

I am grateful for these flowers, sent to me by an incredibly thoughtful friend who wanted to brighten my day today. 

 Just the roses.

 The full collection. I was determined to fit them all in the one vase I own.
 It worked. Barely.

I am eternally grateful for my mother, whose contributions to my happiness I could never begin to explain here.

I am grateful for Ca-R-Ma http://www.ca-r-ma.org/fredericton, which has filled my life with meaningful work and adorable foster cats. These are just a few of them.

Be sure to check out the background in this one...

I am grateful for the beautiful gifts I bought from Eco Fab Mama today, and the extra things she very kindly added to my order! I won't add photos, because they will be surprises for the people I'm giving them to, but check out her website at http://www.EcoFabMama.com . I love her products!

There is so much more that I could list here, but I’ll save the rest for my gratitude journal.

Another thing I’d like to encourage you to do today is to spread some kindness! Take a couple of minutes out of your day and brighten someone else’s. For many people, this isn’t quite the happiest day of the year, and a small act of kindness could make their day a happy and memorable one.

Send a friend an e-card. Send them a quick message telling them how great they are. Pick up a bouquet of flowers at the grocery store and give them to a friend or family member who could use some cheering up. Or, spread kindness to a stranger by paying for the person in line behind you if you're out buying coffee somewhere today. Give someone a compliment. Do something that will put a smile on someone’s face. I promise it will put one on yours too.

Food for Thought

It's not Thursday yet, but here's a thoughtful tidbit.

 http://www.verybestquotes.com/good-morning-what-you-do-today-is-important/

Healthy Cookies!

I just had to share this delicious recipe I just tried out! I just ate another one of them and can't believe that they're so healthy!

The recipe's author's version is here:

The recipe is here:
http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/12/18/grain-free-sugar-cookies/

My version:

So, mine isn't quite as pretty as the original, but I think it's even more delicious! I made mine chewier than the ones in the recipe by baking them a bit less and adding a tiny bit of almond milk even though the dough didn't seem to need extra liquid. 

I used half of the sugar they suggested for the icing, and added some vegan cream cheese, and it was delicious!

The cookies themselves have no dairy, no flour, and no sugar (just a bit of maple syrup). Amazing!

The website that had the recipe, Chocolate-Covered Katie, is amazing!

Turtle

Merry Monday! Here’s a little something that should make you grin on a Monday morning.

Photo taken from; http://nerdfighters.ning.com/photo/how-much-can-you-eat-funny-turtle-vs-strawberry?commentId=1833893%3AComment%3A5919013&xg_source=activity

Random Acts of Kindness

Today is the beginning of Thoughtful Thursdays! Every Thursday, I will write a little something that I hope will make you think.

My topic today is: Random Acts of Kindness.

We've all done something nice for someone else, and experienced the wonderful feeling that comes with it. However, how many of us have done something kind for people who are not close friends, relatives, or partners? Maybe you've even done something kind for complete strangers? Sometimes, this can be the most rewarding act of all.

(This image was borrowed from another blog about Random Acts of Kindness, at http://brandysbustlings.blogspot.ca/2012/05/raok-days-79-80-81-say-cheese.html )

Last year, I started trying to do some "random" acts of kindness. I started with something I found a bit easier than approaching strangers. I gave gifts to my mailman, and to my favourite waitress at my favourite restaurant.

Then, after a couple of particularly frigid days in Fredericton, New Brunswick (-30 or colder), I felt the need to do something to help the homeless. I contacted some local shelters to find out what they needed, and discovered that they take a variety of new and used items. I gathered some shampoo, conditioner, soap, hairbrushes, and more (all new), and then went through my closets and decided to donate anything I wasn't using. I put together a large pile of clothing to donate to the shelter for teenaged girls, and kept a few items aside to donate to the Diabetes Clothesline, an organization I donate to regularly.

I also did some slightly more "random" things like attempting to donate blood (which I attempt regularly, but my iron, weight, heart rate, etc. often disqualify me), suggesting to my friends that they donate blood or register for bone marrow donation (I registered a few years ago, and it's an incredibly quick and easy registration process), donating to the food bank, and a few other small things.

I greatly enjoy doing acts of kindness for the people I love, and for strangers too. Both are incredibly rewarding, and I look forward to continuing this initiative!

Next week, I'll share some of my ideas for random acts of kindness. In the meantime, does anyone have any ideas of their own to share with me?

Back in Business

It seems that I can't get into the habit of blogging. I have, however, been writing. Since my last blog post, I have been to many craft sales, made tons of new jewellery, started a new job, took up a few new languages and hobbies, and wrote 2 novels. First drafts of novels, actually. They still need a lot of work.

So, I have rediscovered my passion for writing, which I am very pleased about! I've also been greatly enjoying making some new kinds of jewellery!

Something I have been making lately involves turning comic books into jewellery. I've been making pendants and rings with pieces cut out of comic books! A couple of the comic book items I've made recently are shown below:

There are many more pendants in progress right now, from a variety of different comic books. 

I've also been working a lot with beach glass! A couple examples of my new beach glass jewellery are here:

I recently got a shipment of beach glass that I am very excited to start working with! Lots more beach glass jewellery is on its way!

I look forward to making a lot more jewellery this year, and to continuing my newly rekindled passion for writing! I can't wait to see what 2013 holds for me!