I am still alive! (starting to see this heading a lot)

Hey everyone,
I just have to let you know that I am still alive! For the last week I have been incredibly sick! I spent three and a half days in bed & am still recovering from this weird chest flu! I had to call in a favor for someone to replace me painting faces at a local church fete, but I did manage to rally enough to go to Telethon 2012 & work in their phone rooms for 4 hours, taking donations and having a pretty good, although busy time! However even though I managed to do the volunteering, I had to sacrifice some other commitments the next day, because I probably pushed a little hard too fast!

One thing I have learned this week is that I don't do "nothing" very well! I usually have little projects I am working on all the time but I have really struggled to during this flu! I guess it ultimately reminds me that it is sooooooo important to look after your own health & well being! Thankfully, I have learned a few kindnesses that I can do in bed (on my phone) so I don't have to struggle through anything too complicated to get my kindnesses done!

My mum often says "where there is a will there is a way", so I like to think that I can think outside the box to do something that I can physically manage! Whilst keeping my passion & this project going! :)

If you think of any ideas of what I can do, to keep me (and  the rest of those reading this blog) from going stir crazy or kindness-less whilst bedridden, We am aways happy to hear them! :D

I hope this finds you well, and if not, that you have been thinking creatively to express kindness!
Lots of love to you all,
Luv Daena
(happily croaking like a bullfrog - because at least that is a noise! Lol)

Awesome other blogs... Kindness Ideas!

Hey everyone,
I don't know if you do this too, but occasionally I log onto Google and type in Kindness 365 to see who else is doing something crazy like me! I am not the only one who decided to make a difference in the world! In fact there are several other Kindness Blogs that would be worth checking out, if you find mine fascinating.

Each has a different specialty, and I am in awe of some of the things these people do! :)

One I came across recently is http://yearofkindness.wordpress.com/about/
This is a blog by a fellow Aussie (from Sydney) who decided like me "to be the change you want to see in the world"(quote by Ghandi). I found her final summation to be wonderful! I read it and thought... i know exactly what she means! :) Seriously... worth a look! :)

Another one I found recently is http://lauragraceweldon.com/2012/07/17/25-ways-to-spread-some-kindness/  Laura Grace shares 25 simple ideas of how to spread kindness in the world. And some of them are ones i have used on this blog... but they sure are good ideas! :) plus there is a video by the Soweto Gospel Choir too! :) (Saw them when they came to Perth a while back and they were awesome).

Lastly... this is already up on the blog in the recommended websites section of the blog but not sure if you have seen it yet... So i will draw attention to it here. I actually found this Blog through Pinterest of all things! :)  http://thumba-lea.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/28-acts-of-kindness.html  
This is a wonderful site full of amazing ideas! She also includes a sheet of Random Acts of Kindness cards that you can give out or leave for people who you have been kind too! :) I am printing off some of these myself! :) So well done!

Another thing I have to share is a video I saw recently! It is GORGEOUS!!! You just have to watch it to see what I mean... it cracked me up but I felt much better after watching it! :) We should all do this every morning! :) here it is...

Anyway, just thought I would share with you some of the thing that inspire me to keep going! As we all know sometimes its hard to keep going! :) Enjoy!
Luv Daena x

p.s. if you have something that helps inspire you and keep you acting with kindness please feel free to share this with me! I love hearing from you guys and girls! :) x

August RAKs - Finally! :)

Hey everyone, 

Well i have been pretty busy so far (as this always happens during NaNoWriMo! lol! Mum always says that in November i am the least productive when it comes to writing! Every other month i am prolific but during November and NaNoWriMo its like trying to get blood out of a stone! hehehe! I think i am just very good at procrastination! :D hehehe... but then again... who isnt! :D 

But i have still had enough time to write the August RAKs! YAY! :) So here is the RAKs for....

August 2012

August 1: I did the washing up after a morning tea at church.

August 2: Helped my parents go to the dentist and sat and held my dads hand as he had a tooth removed. I also let someone else use the ticket machine at the hospital before me (because It took me a little while to find the right change).

August 3: Helped a neighbour save some water by letting them know the tap was still on just a little bit(after they had just watered the garden) & I helped mum put numbers on a Christmas wall hanging for my sister, meaning that with her bad back she didn’t have to do any bending!

August 4: Helped out some friends at a party by mixing their drinks for them and making sure they weren’t driving home. I also took a present to a house-warming party. They now have some more glasses which was great for the house-warming! :)

August 5: I acted as a skipper for a friends birthday for her and her boyfriend, without knowing exactly how I was going to get home (I had a friend come and pick me up, and he drove about an hour out of his way! An awesome friend – THANK YOU... you know who you are).

August 6: Decorated some paper plates in preparation for the community day at Dads nursing home & made mum an unexpected cup of tea.

August 7: Went out of my way to get some belongings to a friend who doesn’t have a car, so she didn’t have to catch public transport to get them back. I also packed up the cards, chairs and tables after a local poker league game. I also helped a new person at poker when he was struggling which which cards beat what and how to cut and deal them, etc.

August 8: I donated pencils, crayons, soft toys, small “balls” to the Samaritans Purse Christmas Shoe box appeal. I also completed 3 soft toys mum had made so that they could also go to the shoe box’s next time. Also was put on “Standby” to look after my niece and nephew because their parents were both busy. (Mum: she invited a friend over to share a meal with us.)

August 9: I held the door open for some paramedics who were wheeling someone out of the doctors surgery into an awaiting ambulance. I also paid for mums lunch and waited up late to make sure she took certain medications on time.

August 10: I said “Bless you” to two sneezing strangers today. One in a fast food restaurant and another in a department store. I also made Pizza for dinner – yummy! :)

August 11: Made conversation with a lonely neighbour and made sure he was coping whilst his wide was away on holiday!

August 12: I lent my sister suitcases and bags for her to take on her working holiday. I also donated some toys to the Mundaring Toy Library!

August 13: Put mum into care so that I could help my sister & brother in law by taking my sister to the airport and baby-sat the kids for a few days whilst their dad was at work!

August 14: I looked after my sisters kids by taking them to school & picking them up. I also made pancakes for them, played computer games, ball games, watched TV & read stories to them. Not to mention I did a load of washing, a load of dishes, sorting and cleaning the laundry, and swept the whole house. I also made the effort to see and old friend and just spent several hours talking.

August 15: I looked after my sisters kids again by getting them dressed/encouraging them to do it themselves, & picking them up after school. I fed them after school – we made smoothies. We watched the same DVD 3.5 times in 24 hours. I also sewed a badge for my nephew onto his camp blanket (I managed to stab my self with the needle whilst doing it too). Also did 2 loads of dish washing, and a load of clothes washing and I made my brother-in-law a cup of tea at the end of a long day.

August 16: Mum and I took and bought lunch for a friend who needed to eat (but had been too stressed to eat & took her some awesome home made cookies too. We also have her lots of cuddles, and just spent some time talking to her.

August 17: Today I drove mum to her best friends house to pick her friend up and take her to have a massage because she had been really stressed. I also took mum and her friend to afternoon tea and paid for it as a wonderful conclusion to a relaxing afternoon. I then drove mums friend home. We also visited another family friend, who'd invited us to dinner and I helped her photograph 10 quilts for charity. I also made a whole bunch of craft stuff for the community day for Dads nursing home.(Mum: Paid for the massage for her friend).

August 18: I helped a lady in the shopping centre because she had dropped something, so I picked it up for her. I also went and supported a friend by going to his EP launch for his band and helped out by working on front of house for an hour or two, before the Band played.(If you want to hear or hear about this band... check them out here)

August 19: I made the effort to cook all the meals at home. Mum and I also picked up my sister from the airport and made her feel loved and cherished because we had made the effort. I also talked & spoke kindly to a stranger I met at the airport who was waiting alone.

August 20: made an effort to make conversation and smiled at several strangers today, as I wandered through the city with a friend.

August 21: I helped a family friend by doing some house work for her, and also helped a couple of friends by singing in a band for them at a church event. I also picked up and paid for dinner for mum and myself.

August 22: Made a visitor a cup of tea and invited them to stay for dinner – But they declined. Also spent the whole afternoon reading to mum who could then continue to do her crocheting for charity quilts.

August 23: I bought coffee and tea for my mum and aunt at a Cafe. I helped a Couperin reverse out of a tricky parking spot because their was cars and people everywhere and I helped them safely. I also helped a friend bake a cake and drove her to do some errands.

August 24: Acted as a chauffeur for mum and drove her to the doctors and then to a friends house. I helped a family friend my holding up charity quilts for her to photograph. I then came home and started to do more craft stuff in anticipation for the community day at Dads nursing home.

August 25: I helped mum out by getting up early and doing two loads of washing before we had to go out – so that it would be dry by the time we would get home (in the sunshine). I also went ahead and organised her new medications at the chemist whist she was finishing up in the doctors surgery.

August 26: Spent all afternoon preparing for my being away all day tomorrow by making lots of snacks for mum to eat all day and also by making too much food (creating left overs) ready for our lunches. I also made several cups of tea as she spent most of the day in bed.

August 27: I picked up rubbish for some colleagues, held the door open for strangers and offered to get drinks/snacks to make some work we were doing a little more bearable.

August 28: I handed out files and helped by holding the door open for some colleagues!

August 29: Made the effort to appreciate everyone who did anything for me, even if it was their jobs to do so. I also offered my seat on a train to an elderly person.

August 30: I bought lollies in for my colleagues so we didn’t fall asleep during a rather boring assignment.

August 31: I made the effort to smile at people I came across. I also helped a lady when she dropped a whole bunch of coins, by helping her pick them up. 

I hope you enjoy that these are finally out in the world! :D 

Hope this also finds you well! 

Luv Daena x

Busy time of Life...

Hey everyone,
I bet you are wondering what has been happening, as I haven't really had a chance to write much about whats been happening. So this is what has been happening... and here is what is coming up! :)

For the last three months or so, Mum and i have been volunteering and planning the community day at my dads nursing home. We have been making a whole range of crafts, baked goods, and decorated Lollies (Photos are coming up and i will include them as i update the monthly kindnesses, so you can see what we did along the way! I hope i took photos of everything though! :/

So last weekend was the actual Community day at my dads nursing home. Mum and I ran the cake stall (which also had preserves and decorated lollies). By the end of the day our stall had raised over $700! And the whole day raised about $3000 to help go towards extra equipment for the nursing home.

Table 1: The cakes, cupcakes, cookies, fudges, bananas in PJs, Candycane Reindeer, & Coconut ice and everything in between there too! More stuff arrived after this too... but i didnt have enough time to take a better photo! Someone also bought in Fresh Italian Canoli's (Oh My Goodness... delicious).

The 2nd Table: The Jams, Marmalades, Lemon Butter, Fruit cakes and everything in between!

I think there was only 4 jars of preseves left by the end of the day! And we ended up reducing it down to one table. Here is my nephew standing behind the table 

 
As the only family members who were part of the planning, we got thoroughly thanked with a bunch of flowers each and the WORLDS largest box of Chocolates. :) 1.134kgs of chocolate in a taster tray! But we had a lot of fun and were just happy to be able to do things we were both good at! Many of the families of other residents made and contributed in a HUGE range of other ways & there was all the paid staff that were amazing as planners and worked really hard for the Nursing home as well ... just don't want it to sound like it was all us! We only did a small portion! Our Kindnesses were Our time, crafts and cakes as they were all donations to the day and helped made it a huge success! :D

I also got to try out a whole bunch of stuff that I could make from the ideas I got from Pinterest! (I have a Pinterest page... so if you want kindness ideas I have some pins in a Kindness Ideas page- http://pinterest.com/daenamouse/kindness-ideas/ ). I will include photos later... and if you are really keen I can provide you with some web-inar links or pins for the things i have made! or just try and tell you how i made them... or something!

On a funny note, Dad is loving that we helped, because lots of the staff bought mums cakes and her delicious Jams and are telling him regularly how delicious they are... He is acting like a minor Celebrity! Its quite cute! :)

WHAT IS COMING UP:

NANOWRIMO - this is the National November Writers Month! They challenge you to write 50,000 words in the month. So I am going to be working hard to achieve this, both for this website and for a personal project I am currently working on.

Movember - okay, I'm not a man (obviously), nor a woman who can grow an exceptional Mustache... but funnily enough this is something I support regularly! I have several friends who participate and if it helps support Testicular & Prostate Cancer research and mens health in general.

Telethon 2012 - the weekend of the 10th & 11th of November. I will be doing something similar to what i did last year (Telethon November 2011). Last year I got to meet some awesome Sport, TV & Movie stars and had a lot of fun helping the Western Australian Children's Hospital Princess Margaret, and the Telethon Institute for Child Research! :)

Margaret River Holiday - That is right boys and girls, i am having a holiday! With some of my closest girlfriends! A well deserved one in a couple of weeks that should help me to relax! :)

Christmas -  Sorry to scare you but its only 2 months away! :)

TOP SECRET MISSION: I am hoping I might be able to implement a "TOP SECRET" event this year! Keep checking back for more details! :D


I hope you enjoy this update... and look forward to other things during this month! :D

Thanks guys,
Luv Daena x