Day 90: Easter Egg Fun

I have some great memories from my childhood of hunting for eggs on Easter morning. My parents would always hide a bunch of eggs around the house and also a basket with my favorite candy and some toys.  My brother and I would always compete to see who could find their basket first.  Being that my daughter is only 10 months, she isn't able to grasp the concept of going to find hidden eggs so we just put a basket in the middle of her room for her to play with.  It was fun to watch.

Today, for my act of kindness, I decided to do something in the Easter spirit.  I took one of those plastic eggs that you can open and I put $5 in it.  My wife and I then took a trip to the grocery store.  I decided it would be fun to place this egg in the store for some stranger to find.  As you can see from the picture above, we decided on putting it in the peanuts.  We didn't wait around to see who found it, but I am sure they were happy.  Fun stuff.  Thanks to my wife for the idea.

Day 89: Long Overdue

What I will look like in a few short weeks!

For the last couple of years I have tried multiple times to get in better shape.  I have used many different forms of motivation like spending too much money on supplements, gym memberships and at home workout DVDs. I also signed up for the ToughMudder last year, which is a 12 mile obstacle course, in hopes that it would force me to get in better shape. Well it didn't, and although I was able to finish the ToughMudder, it definitely wasn't pretty. So in the end, none of my motivations have worked.  I would always start off strong, but after a couple weeks I would find an excuse to not workout and before I knew it I stopped completely.

Well today, I am trying a new tactic, and I will be using all of you as my motivation.  There have been days so far in the year that it would have been easier to not write about an act of kindness, but when I think about the amount of people that read this (Over 21,000 views so far) it motivated me to find time. So I thought if I committed on here to working out everyday that it would help keep me accountable.  With that being said, going forward, I will not write this blog each day until I have done some sort of exercise or have it planned to work out right after. Hopefully it works because I have already registered for the ToughMudder in September!

I thought this is another one of those, is it really an act of kindness things...?  But the more I got thinking about it the more I realized that being healthy has an impact on not just me.  It will make me a better dad and husband in the long run.  Plus it is important to be kind to yourself!

Day 88: Cheer for Intentional Walks

I am a big baseball fan.  With the season starting on Sunday I thought it would be fun to do something that revolved around the sport.  A coworker of mine brought a charity called "The Cure Baseball" to my attention this week. The Cure Baseball is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to providing financial, emotional and moral support to people and families affected by cancer through a traveling summer collegiate baseball team, support group programs and donations to prestigious cancer research groups affiliated with college and university medical centers.

A cool fundraising effort that this organization is doing is called "The Intentional Walks Campaign." Basically it is a campaign where they are looking for people to donate a small amount for every intentional walk this MLB season. So today, for my act of kindness, I donated 1 cent per intentional walk.  Last year, there were about 1100 total in the season.  Normally, I just get annoyed with intentional walks, however this year, I know that every time one happens, money (both mine and a lot of other people's) will be going to a great cause.  And that is something I can cheer for.

If you would like to learn more about this organization, click on the following link: http://www.thecurebaseball.org

Day 87: Purchased Bed Sheets

Sometimes there are days when I am able to do a random act of kindness while at the same time being productive.  Today was one of those days.

We have not bought bed sheets for over three years, and with a 75 pound dog who sleeps in our bed, you can imagine how much we are need for some new sheets. My wife found a cause on Facebook where a business, CoZzzy Comfy, if having a deal where if you purchase a set of bed sheets from them before April 3rd, they will donate $10 per order to a specific family in need.  The family it is going towards has a Facebook page called "Liam's Leaps and Bounds." Today is Liam's third birthday and  from what I have read, he has had a lot of medical issues through his first few years and whatever financial help the family can receive will be greatly appreciated.  I know I have never felt so good about buying bed sheets!



Thanks for reading my blog! I will be donating 10 cents to a charity or a good cause at the end of 2013 for every follower. Please follow me on twitter @365kindacts or like me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/365-Kind-Acts-for-2013/387097501381996?fref=ts

Day 86: Not Just Junk Mail

First off, I wanted to say that I got this idea from someone else who is doing random acts of kindness throughout the year.  You can find them on twitter @pledgekindness. Thanks for the great idea!

I literally check the mail at most once a week, and the reason why I check it so infrequently is because there is never anything fun in the mail.  It is either bills or junk mail telling me how I am pre-approved for something.  Well today, for my act of kindness,  I decided to send a complete stranger a different kind of bill, one that they would probably be happy to see.  I put $5 in an envelope and picked a random name out of the phonebook to send it to.  I hope they appreciate the small gesture of kindness and pass it on.  I know if I randomly got money from someone I would be checking my mail more than once a week!

Day 85: Marriage Equality

Today is the first day of the Supreme Court hearings on a couple same sex marriage laws.  I try to make it a point to not make this a politically driven blog however this is something I feel very strongly about. I don't believe anyone should be restricted on who they choose to love/marry.  So today, for my act of kindness, I did something that a lot of people did today throughout the country, I switched my profile picture to the image above to show my support for marriage equality.  As just one person switching their picture, I know it doesn't mean much, however with the massive amount of people who have switched their profile picture today it gives a much better perspective on how far this country has come in the last ten years regarding this topic.  And that is great to see!

"We're just trying to find happiness in the bodies and minds we were given, like everyone else" - Ellen DeGeneres

Day 84: A Library for Ants

For anyone who caught my "Zoolander" reference in the title....good work, and we should definitely be friends if we aren't already.

When I went out to lunch yesterday in Door County this "Little Free Library" was outside of the restaurant.  Apparently we have a few of these in Madison, WI but this is the first one of these that I have seen.  I think it is such a cool idea because lets be honest, who reads a book twice? I know I never have. Whenever I am done with a book I either give it to someone or put it on a shelf somewhere to collect dust.  So today, for my act of kindness, I found a book (thanks Mom) and donated it to this little library on my way out of town.  I hope some stranger enjoys it!