Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Random Acts of Kindness


Ok Psychgrad... Step away from MLS (the main real estate site in Canada). My agent's husband calls it "porn for women". Luckily, Giz is a former real estate agent, so she willingly (or with very little complaint) humours my addiction.

Suffice to say, we haven't found a home. There isn't much on the market that looks interesting. It's really tough to find the right balance of new home, with a decent size yard (i.e., larger that the little square you get in most townhomes), that is in move-in condition and relatively central. Added to that, we'd like a place that is energy efficient and in walking distance to nearby stores.

Enough about the crappy market (for buyers).

Let me tell you about something more positive.

RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS!

Many of you likely know Julia from Grow. Cook. Eat.. She is a blogger from Cambridge, MA who is a professionally trained chef, leads interactive cooking parties, is a consultant, an entrepreneur and an all-around nice person.

A while back, Julia and I co-posted about our cinnamon bun recipes. You can view mine here and Julia's are here. We got to talking about vanilla beans and next thing I know, she sent me my very own Tahitian vanilla beans.

Just when I thought I had exhausted my random acts of kindness allotment from one person, I found out that I was going to receive another random act of kindness after commenting on one of her posts.

About a week later, I received something in the mail....


Julia had recalled me mentioning wanting to steal this book from Giz (a book I had sent her for Mother's Day...yes, I'm a terrible daughter for wanting to steal my mom's Mother's Day present) and she sent it to me! A big thank you to Julia!

The idea of these random acts is to pass on the kindness. So here's how it works:

1. Leave a comment on this post no later than 8 pm EST Monday, August 17th. I’ll pick 3 comments randomly, on whose authors I’ll bestow an act of kindness. I’ll announce the winners shortly after.

2. My kindness can be anything of my choosing. It might be handmade and it might be purchased, but it will be selected just for you. I make no guarantees that you’ll love it (or not find it odd or quirky), but I guarantee that it will be heartfelt on my part.

3. Having some experience with shipping blogging prizes overseas, I'm going to have to limit my kindness to bloggers from North America.

All you have to do, dear readers, is have a blog and be willing to pass on the kindness by creating a similar post. If you don’t blog, play the game the old-fashioned way: find a neighbour, stranger or friend in need and fill it.
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12 comments:

nanny said...

can't wait to see the movie...I need to read the book first...I like to read then see...how about you? Love your blog. Came here via Ungourmet....

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

So much fun Psychgrad. I am draging my non-foodioe friends to see the movie on Thursday night:D

PG said...

nanny = agreed -- book before movie. Though, the movie rarely measures up to the book.

Unknown said...

Too bad I'm not located in North America, but it sounds fun!

kat said...

Such a sweet idea!

Amelie said...

What a generous idea! I'm game to play!

Deanna said...

Awe this is sweet. Thanks for starting a pay-it-forward acts of kindness movement. I'll do my best to contribute. I STILL haven't seen the movie because it came out while I was on vacation and haven't had a chance since I've been back! Shooting for this weekend :)

Princess of the Universe said...

I'm the other way around- I always prefer to see the movie first because the book is always better. That way I'm not sitting there through the whole movie saying "that didn't happen in the book."

Btw- saw it last Friday and LOVED it. Now must get the book...
xo

Julia said...

Glad you enjoyed the book! I'm really looking forward to the movie.

And good luck house-hunting! Better to be patient than settle on the wrong place.

Unknown said...

This is a great idea -- I love it, and will transfer the thoughts to my own blog ASAP.
It sounds like so much fun!

Anonymous said...

This is wonderful. We shouldn't need reminders to do for others but sometimes, we get self absorbed, and let those opportunities pass us by.

I learned years ago that it is not only those major acts of kindness that we should be looking for but the little ones, even a smile when we meet someone.

Thanks for doing this. It is terrific idea.

Yes, I want to do this on my blog but I want to come up with my own spin on it.

Thanks for being our inspiration.

Ruth Daniels said...

What a lovely post. I do love random acts of kindness. Why is it they always take our breath away and smile?

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