Giving - Easy as A-B-C

Bringing smiles to children has never been this easy. The best part is its not just smiles, its education.
Elmers has started a #bagitforward campaign where every blog post acts as a bag of school supplies. For every post, they donate money to Adopt-A-Classroom to 'help make a difference in classrooms across the country'.
All you have to do is hit a few keys on your keyboard, copy-and-pasting, pressing 'Publish Post', and Voila! You just made a few more children smile.

{Oh, and you also have to give a bad of school supplies to someone. I give mine to BexyBoat -- enjoy your crayons and glue sticks! }

ELMER’S VIRTUAL BAG IT FORWARD RULES

• Copy and paste these rules into your blog post.
• Create a blog post giving a “virtual bag of school supplies” to other bloggers or write about your Back to School shopping trip at Walmart.
• Link back to the person who gave you a bag of school supplies.
• Let each person you are giving a virtual bag of school supplies know you have given them a bag.
• Leave your link in the Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward comment section. You can also find the official rules of this virtual #bagitforward program there.
• Elmer’s is donating $10 for each blog participating in the Virtual Bag It Forward Donation to Adopt-A-Classroom (up to total of $10,000 for blog posts written by August 12, 2010).
• Please note that only one blog post per blog url will count towards the donation.

Spread The Joy

I always rolled my eyes at parents who were very concerned about who their children befriended, but I guess they were onto something. It seems like the attitude of the people that surround you has a great effect on your own.

You are what you...spend time with?

But that doesn't mean you should cut your sad friends off. "The better solution," as David Rand from the article put it, " is to make your sad friends happy.”

Perfect

I was walking along Venice Beach and I saw this girl promoting smiles. She had a sign that asked what makes you smile, and she was selling colorful stretchy bands.

She's working on a documentary about what makes people smile. Please check her out, this is SO AWESOME.

www.WhatMakesYouSmileTheMovie.com

Setting an Example

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/south_asia/10204759.stm

Trololo

This is bound to brighten your day:

http://trololololololololololo.com/

Making the Best of Cigs

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100513/sc_nm/us_butts

Just goes to show that good can (and does) come out of anything.

Organ Printing?

This is incredible. Please read.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070221093208.htm

Water Water Everywhere

Droughts, flooding, now this:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/05/02/a_catastrophic_rupture_hits_regions_water_system/?page=2#

Water is out to get us! It's a very serious situation, but it's also quite humorous.

My dad told me that he was standing in line at BJ's behind a man who bought 400 liter-sized water bottles...400!

Photos

Some beautiful pictures so start a wonderful day.

Joy in others

A friend's clothing company was featured in a very cool fashion show last night. They unleashed their latest line OUTSIDE under the lights, with models and music. Twas AWESOME.

It's magnificent to see a friend succeed. Their dedication, motivation, and hard work are inspiring, and it's cliche but it makes me feel like I can do and be anything I want. And maybe it's my motherly instinct, but it just makes me so so happy to see them do well.

Think Big. Get Big. DirtyNastyApparel.

The Little Things

There is something that constantly amazes me -- the power of a smile.

Time and time again I find myself in this situation:

Someone is walking towards me with a blank, angry, sad, critical, aggressive, defensive, or just plain negative look. However, as soon as I make eye contact and smile at them, that whole persona disappears. It's truly incredible. All of a sudden, that image melts away and a much softer and more positive one emerges. They smile back, or nod their head or say hello. It's really as if I just saw two completely different people.

This happens ALL THE TIME. Today I was biking and I encountered plenty of such people. Whether they were tired, critically analyzing my level of fitness and seriousness, annoyed that I wasn't far enough to the right, annoyed that I was going too slow, wrongly assuming that I was trying to show them up with my flexibility (flexible people have a time and place to stretch too!), an older person criticizing the youth...any negative emotion that can arise in the park.

That look EVAPORATED within milliseconds as soon as I flashed my pearly whites -- and I mean NANOseconds. I will end my rant but I find this truly remarkable and heart-warming. It makes me very very happy (and generates even more smiles).

Warm your Soul

One of my favorite things in the world (along with lemon sorbet):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ltAGuuru7Q

This song is pure bliss, let it play over and over in your head and fill your world with magic :)

More Chuckles

Be careful! Spell-check can't always save you.

Chuckle

Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
- Groucho Marx

Awe

I went for a bike ride along the Charles this morning, and I was in awe of how beautiful everything was. The trees were blooming with stunning pink and white flowers, the grass was green, the sun was shinning -- not a cloud in the sky. There was only a slight breeze, leaving the water still to reflect all of this and stupefy me. The city brownstones, skyscrapers, bridges, and cars added a calming hum.

One of my favorite things about Boston is this great combination of modern and historical city, along with nature. It's so wonderful.

Historic Moment

No, this is not Venice, it's the Wayland Public Library:

Wayland, Mass has turned into a giant swimming pool! The flooding was intense, but I'm sure few complained -- kids at least-- about getting to take duck-boats through the center of town.

C'mon Sweden!

Hope this produces a chuckle :).

Imagination

http://yayeveryday.com/post/9838

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

-Albert Einstein

Speechless

It is 88 degrees out. It is April 7th. Wow.

{Don't worry I'm not staying indoors, I just came back to shower after a 2.5 hour bike ride along the Charles}

Listen and grin

Woke up to the birds singing this morning -- few things are more beautiful.

But that's not all the warmth brings:

http://yayeveryday.com/post/9821

Beauty

Little Things

1) Go to google.com

2) Type "who is the cutest?" into the search bar

3) Press "I'm Feeling Lucky"

Fairy Tales

Happy Birthday Hans Christian Anderson.

{Those who don't know of him, he is the original author of many famous stories such as The Little Mermaid and The Ugly Duckling. Although his stories did not have the same sunny disposition as the Disney version, they provide an interesting scrutiny of mankind. He was extremely talented, and one of the first to create fairy tales both for children and adults.}

In Denmark, there is a H.C. Anderson impersonator who leads wonderful and captivating tours of Copenhagen. I am not a fan of tours and guided walks in the least, but I must confess that this man was truly incredible. If you ever find yourself in Denmark, please please take my word and go on his walk, I promise it will be worth it.

It's that simple

Many people are depressed when they realize that they are just a meaningless little speck in the universe, but personally I find it uplifting. I find it relieving to think of how little my decisions really matter. To realize that in the end, what's important is how I spend my time -- what level of happiness my life is filled with.

What lasts is the smiles, laughs, and love you give and take. I think it's important to remember that your life is truly what you make of it.

A friend pointed out to another friend today, that one of the most amazing things about their friendship is that every time they see each other, they pick up right where they left off -- nothing changes. It's because their friendship is true, and based on pure love and joy.

Doesn't that just warm your heart?

As Cat Stevens said: "there's a million ways to go, you can do what you want"

So if you want to be happy...be happy. It's that simple.

Don't you worry, about a thing

If you're fretting over an iffy decision you've made recently, consider this:

Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from bad decisions.

Try Something New

Need something to lift your spirits? How about this:

Go to bed early, and wake up at dawn.

You may not be a morning person, but waking up around 7/7:30 am -- just as the earth opens her eyes -- can be motivation and cleansing. Combined with a stretch and a healthy breakfast, it'll do wonders.

"Happiness is every human being's birthright."
-Yogi Tea

Tea fights cancer, stroke, heart disease, cardiovascular disease, and depression. It also strengthens your memory, speeds recovery, lowers blood pressure, and many other miraculous things.
Still think tea is just water with flavor?

Brew a nice cup of tea, take a deep breath, and smile.

Smile Search

This Boston downpour may be flooding your mind with gloom. If you're searching for an incentive to smile, just take a look at the weather five days ahead.

If that doesn't work, here's some guidance.

Our humble little oasis does not yet have many followers, but we would like to make a shout-out to discovering the 'Economics of Procrastination' -- helping us all move forward.