I'm not perfect!

Hey everyone, by now you may have gathered that I always try to be honest, but kind! I always try to be polite & encouraging! But I'm not perfect!

Today i realized that more than ever! I sat down with some friends I hadn't seen in a while and I said something about another person that was rather rude! I shouldn't have and regret it immensely! I don't talk like that... Not usually! So I apologize now for my rude & stupid remark! I know you may not know what i said, and I'm not repeating it, but I don't know what I was thinking! Sorry!

I think I'm going to ring these friends and apologize for my behavior!

This is not who I am and definitely not who I want to be! I hope you learn from my mistakes!

Luv D

Kindnesses passed on by a friend

Hey everyone, a friend sent this too me and I had to share because I hope it inspires you as much as it does me! That little ray of sunshine and hope!

"Hi Daena. I thought you would like these two kindnesses I noticed today. One - a young high school boy in the supermarket near here was buying snacks for his day, and did not have quite enough change . The woman behind the till reached into a drawer and gave him 40 cents. "People sometimes leave their change behind" she said with a smile.

The second happened at the Anti-Poverty week service today. One of the homeless people we had with us gave the speaker (the CEO of a large welfare organisation) a donation of all the loose change he had in his pocket -about $2.80. "For the poor", he said.

Thought you would find this as beautiful as I did! Have a wonderful day! :) luv D

Migraines and kindnesses...

Hey everyone,
I am still alive which has been a bit of an effort on my part this week as I have just survived two migraines in less than a week! But I still have managed to do my kind act a day regardless of the pain I have been through! Just wanted you to know I am still committed! :)

My sister loves me (and is proclaiming my awesomeness to all of Facebook, lol) this week as I made the extra effort to spoil her and do some cleaning at her house whilst she, her husband & their kids were on holiday! It's school holidays so keeping the kids entertained is far more important than some hard cleaning! At least that's my opinion! Lol!

Anyway, during my migraines I struggle to stand up, people suddenly start glowing with auras & the pain is intense, I also can't handle much light! But I managed to medicate (with prescribed medications - please don't do this without medical consultation!) enough to make mum a cup of tea and did some cleaning! With regular breaks I survived! You might think i am crazy, and you are probably right! :D lol!

Anyways, I wanted to write about this because there are things in life that often hold us back and we shouldn't let them! I struggle a lot with holding myself back from being extraordinary. But it was a nice change for me to push through pain & discomfort to prove my commitment to making this world a better place! I hope if you get the chance, you will choose to benefit the world and not be held back by self imposed restrictions!

This doesn't mean you should disregard your own health & well being! When I did my kindnesses I did them after sleeping several hours (which is also a consequence of the migraines) and also made sure I was well hydrated! And I took regular breaks! But the ability to push through far outweighed the pain for me! Because it was something that would normally stop me! I don't want to be stopped. I want to make a difference!

I hope this finds you well!
Luv Daena x

Thankyou Water... TV Commercial! AWESOME!!!!

Hey everyone,
for those that follow the Facebook page of 365 Days of Kindness this wont be a surprise for you but for those of you who don't, on October 2, I was shopping at the local shopping center and discovered that in the post office they were selling Thankyou Water. I posted about it as a kindness idea the next day becuase its awesome! :)

Now for those of you who don't know about this amazing product, let me give you the low down.

Thank you water ..."is a social enterprise. We exist because in developing nations almost 900 million people don't have access to safe water. But with your help we can change this. Visit www.thankyouwater.org to see the projects you are funding by choosing this water. Thank you". (this was on the back of the bottle of water i bought! :) 

  I love this water because every bottle you buy goes to provide one months worth of safe water to someone in need!

Why I am bringing this up now is because they have just released their first TV commercial, and its gorgeous. Film makers from around Australia donated their time and effort to creating this master piece. If that isn't kindness i don't know what is! So you can see it here... because I had to share! :) 

 Currently I think it's only in Australia but you never know! So if you see it... thankyou water is the way to go! And do a kindness for people who need clean water! :)

Enjoy! Luv D x

3000 page views! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

Hey everyone,
we have made it to 3000 page views! That is amazing! I remember how excited i was when we made it to 100, 500, 1000, 2000 and now 3000!

I just have to say THANK YOU for your support, encouragement and enthusiasm for this project of mine, even though I am not the most reliable blogger. I really appreciate all those who support this blog and all those who support the Facebook page! You are such champions for kindness that I am inspired by the stories you tell me!

So for those of you who enjoyed the last set of blog statistics i put up (i don't know when i will do this next - but statistics always intrigue me - so it will probably be when we make it to 5000). So here is the top ten countries (The map shows the darkest colours as the one with the most views).

Australia - 875 views 

Russia - 803 views

United States - 734 views

United Kingdom -74views

Germany - 57 views

Brazil - 33 views

Netherlands - 23 views

Colombia - 19 views

Thailand - 19 views

France - 14 views

Thank you!

Thank you to the Russian, Brazilian, Colombian, Netherlander & Thai cheering squads, mainly because I am pretty sure I don't know any of you personally.

For those of you I don't know personally, in any of the other countries, thank you so much for your continued support, and whether you found me through chance or through one of my friends, thank you so much!

To my friends and family, who remain my constant and continual companions on this journey! THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH! :) I love you lots and lots! Your journeys and your compassion inspire me! :) Thanks!

TO anyone:

Thanks... i don't think that can be said enough really! gratitude is so important and very powerful! So thank you again! You all rock! :)

Hope you enjoy the statistics... if you are a little crazy like me! :)
Luv Daena x

GOBSMACKED? you should be... July Kindnesses

Hey Everyone,
How many of you logged on to the blog today, just to see if i managed to keep the ball rolling and post the July Kindnesses? (I did... but i dont think i count! :)

So there are lots of photos in this one... because i was a very busy beaver and did a whole range of stuff... from looking after sick doggies, to helping at quiz nights, to planning weddings, to baking cakes for everything, and singing.

So I hope you enjoy this fun filled installment of the 2012 kindnesses.

Here is

JULY 2012

July 1: Took Amber to the vet and spent the day and night looking after her.

Amber spent the majority of her time from when we started looking after her, on her dog bed. She was unsteady getting up and going to the toilet, so had to be taken out on a lead for the first little while that we stayed with her.

This is the rest of the "pet family" of Amber's, Her sister Ebony and her cat Spyder. I was hand feeding Amber when the other pets wanted to join in and spend time with me and Amber. They are such beautiful animals. (This is also me in my sexy Penguin Pajamas... thats right! I love penguins so much... they are even on SEVERAL pairs of my pajamas!).

 July 2: Spent more time looking after Amber. Took Amber to the vet and she was admitted for an x-ray and ultrasound.

July 3: I prepared a whole lot of stuff ready for a wedding soon. I even started to decorate some glass wear.

 July 4: Prepared fruit for making a wedding cake and Visited Amber in hospital (she lost a lot of weight but was happy to see us).

July 5: Clearned up the house of the friend whilst they were away.

July 6: Mum and I baked 80 cupcakes ready to help out at a quiz night. I also helped set up the hall for the fundraising quiz night!

July 7: Did a lot of work for the Quiz night. Including taking/iciing cupcakes, helping set up and singing in the guest band. Amber returned home from the hospital and we took up 4 hourly feeding rosters. 

This is me singing in the band for the Salvation Army quiz night (hence the shield in the back ground). It looks like i'm eating the microphone... mmmm... yummy! ;)

 July 8: Sent a thank you message to two friends who had bought me a birthday gift and helped friends get ready for their wedding. Got up early to do the early morning feeds for Amber (7am).

Amber was getting up and moving around by this point. She had very little energy but she and her cat Spyder came and vied for attention when i was sitting on the lounge chair... a sure sign of improvement.

July 9: Continued to look after a very sick dog. Feeding and getting her up to go to the toilet every four hours.

July 10: bought a cake for one of the craft ladies birthdays.

July 11: Did some full on wedding preparation, with another girl Em (she and i had been conscripted to do the afternoon tea for the wedding together). Bought more lollies, did placement plans for the afternoon tea and did a lot more glass decorating at my house. Then returned to the house we were house-sitting, and Amber's medications had to change so we had to start getting up earlier (6am) to give her medication before her food at 7am.

July 12: I did some washing, cleaning, vacuuming and pet care at a friends house.

July 13: Got the last of the lollies to pack into glass ware, waited for someone to drop off the key for the venue and also did a huge amount of packing and also finished creating trees out of dead branches. Did the final touches to the wedding cake. 

Why is it after you promise lots of photos that you realize the background is terribly messy. Oh well... The wedding had three sets of colours: Orange and Blue, Red and Yellow, & Green and Purple.This is just one of the tests we had for the colours. 

July 14 (THE WEDDING): Returned to my house for 9am to pack the last of the glassware, lollies and cutlery into boxes, 10am people came to fill their cars with boxes and take to the venue(Em took the key and opened up the venue and started setting up whilst i was still packing peoples cars). Then I left my house to get to the Venue at 11am. Decorated the hall completely with many helpers (thanks guys... you rocked). Went to the wedding at 1pm. (Whilst we hosted the afternoon tea – mum took the awesome cake to the reception venue with some help). Had the afternoon tea from 2pm-3.30pm. Then had to pack it all up again. Finished packing at around 5pm. Had a celebratory/exhausted pre-dinner snack at 5.15pm. Had the reception at 6pm. Party over by 11pm and I was in bed after taking Amber for a midnight toilet break.

This is the Orange and Blue colour scheme. I probably should have explained before that this was a candy store themed wedding with all the candy/glassware/bowls/cutlery etc in the colour of the tables. This made sorting M&Ms, Skittles and other multicoloured sweets a rather tedious task... but the affect was STUNNING!

The Green & Purple colour scheme was amazing because it had two shelving units laid on their sides to add extra height and give a different look to the other two sets of tables. This was also the central table, so to make it different we just used one set of ballons in the middle instead of two sets at either end like on the other two table sets.

The Red and Yellow colour scheme. I have to appologise for the quality of the photographs, but at this point i was in a bit of a frenzy, trying to make sure it all looked good before heading over to the church for the wedding ceremony.

These were the twig trees that i made to hang the bonbierre bags on, so people could get an empty bag off the tree and then fill it will lollies from the table thus making their own take-home-wedding-gift. Brillian Idea. The bride was a genious when she thought of this (alas, i cant take the credit for the idea... only the final product). 

This is the view of all of the tables down the middle of the hall. The orange and green was the first thing you saw as you walked into the room. It looked amazing. As you walked in, you wanted to keep walking and see what there was to offer. This also helped move people though the hall so there wasnt a bottle neck of people as they all came in.

This is a wider view of the previous photo and you can see the "trees" against the wall to the right of the photo. It looked amazing. I was so glad it turned out so well. We had lots of compliments. And the bride and groom loved it especially... which was a huge relief after all the work we had put in to it. 

 

This is the wedding cake that mum and i made for this wedding! It was just gorgeous. The only thing is, the beautifully hand made figurines on top of the cake went missing that night. So if anyone has seen these beautiful little hand made figures can you please contact me and let me know where they are. The bride and groom are quite determined to get them back, because they were made for them by a friend.

July 15: Looked after myself by having a “rest” day – but still kept doing the pet care regime.

July 16: Did the early shift of pet care so mum could get some much needed rest. Sent messages of love to a family who had just lost their loved one at dads nursing home.

July 17: Cleaned the house and make the house look awesome and cleaner that before we picked up the house owners from the airport. We did the best to make it look really clean and welcoming because they were going to have their own hands full looking after a very sick dog when they got home.

July 18: Helped a friend build an Architectural model and helped cheer up a sad friend.

This was the model we had to build. Sadly i cant remember what it is, or who its by, but i know its famous!? Im sure that is no help at all. If i find out what it is... I will update this.

July 19: walked a friend to her car in a dodgy neighbourhood late at night. Provided some friends with endless amounts of amusement because I got a fit of the giggles that last about half an hour.

July 20: I visited a sick friend and spent some time baking with my niece and nephew.

July 21: Organised some “feel good movies” for mum as she wasn’t very well.

July 22: Invited one of our neighbours in for a coffee and a chat.

July 23: Made a CD of my favourite songs and gave it to a friend.

July 24: did the washing up at craft and make cups of tea for mum and offered to do the same for the other craft ladies.

July 25: Helped a friend out by holding Blankets so she could photograph them before she sent them off to a charity,

July 26: Volunteered to help at a Community Day at my dads nursing home and attended an organizing committee meeting for it.

July 27: Baked over 120 cupcakes in preparation for an engagement party – Iced them late in the evening and also made and decorated a BIG cake too.

July 28: Took Big cake and cupcakes to the engagement party and made it all look very pretty! :)

These were the 120 cupcakes (the worse looking ones got kept as "just in case" cupcakes. there were two flavours chocolate and vanilla and the middle cake was a nice boiled chocolate mud cake (a receipe I LOVE).

I loved this cake. Not only is it heart shaped by it has crazy wiggles on it too... something else I love to do! :) The bows and icing hearts of sticks were great too... trying to match the colour exactly was a little tough... but the whole effect was spectacular! :)

July 29: Spent all day at my sisters house getting my Kindnesses in order and putting them all in a photo album to show non-technical/computer using people what I am doing and all about this project (Similar to last years scrap booking album).

July 30: Helped a lady when her baby pram fell over! Thankfully this happened just after (and possibly as a result), the baby was removed from the pram.

July 31: Bought a drink for a friend at a pub. I also started crocheting a friends birthday present (you will see the photos of it in the August Kindnesses).

NOTE (at present): Amber the dog is still alive and is miraculously doing better. She lost lots of weight and is on a very restricted diet. She is still on four-six hourly feeds but her attitude and energy levels have increased to the point that she can play and toilet herself. She has even been up to her old hints of mischief (much to the frustration of her human mummy). Mum and I keep cuddling her, when we visit her and her sister Ebony (and their cat brother Spyder). Amber, Ebony, & Spyder are like family to mum and I, we have known them for such a long time, the world would be a sadder place without any one of them. Even though it was tough to look after Amber when she was sick, and whilst her owners were away, we are in no way bitter about looking after her. We are glad she has survived, against all odds. She is such a special dog and she is cherished by us and by her owners. The owners appreciated our hard work and effort by showering us with gifts and gratitude. Which we indeed grateful for, but that Amber survived for her owners to see again, that was the true gift!

So, four times in four days (and yes, when i started writing this it was on the fourth day... although technically I'm pretty sure its a new day), is pretty good for me. I am almost up to date! :) HOORAY for small miracles. 

I hope you have enjoyed the photos, the stories and the kindnesses.I am glad i have been able to make peoples lives and special days that bit more special! :) 

May this find you in health and happiness, 

luv Daena X

MIRACLES... June Kindnesses

Hey everyone, 
Well, I think the heading of this post has given this Miracle of Miracles away... but here are the June Kindnesses.

I know, you are as shocked as I am a) because this is the 3rd post in 3 days (I'm never this organized)
                                                          b) because there are JUNE kindnesses (& they were missing)
                                                          c) because this title mentioned MIRACLES...

yes I know.. some of you get over excited and that's just because of your overwhelming amount of enthusiasm for this project! For this I am very grateful! :)

So let me explain how this miracle came about. Yesterday I was talking to mum about how i was probably going to have to do this post in like 6 months time, because it would take me that long to track down what i had done. So she says that we should have a catch up with our diaries. So that is what we did today. No... sadly mum didnt have all my kindnesses listed, however she held the key! THE ELUSIVE KEY!!!!

In her diary, mum had written that there was an 8 week program launched by the Salvos and some Australian Television stars that asked people to pledge and record their kindnesses with an aim of reaching 1million kindnesses! BRILLIANT idea they had! I don't think it was AS successful as they were hoping (in fact I was hoping too). But they still had an awesome turn out! :) If you want more info on this awesome project you an check it out here...http://www.1millionacts.com.au/8-week-challenge

Anyway... The awesome part about this whole thing is they had a personal diary where you could record the Kindnesses you had done.

I think you see where i am going with this... I logged on to the website, found my personal kindness diary for the 1 Million Acts of Kindness page and voila... I have kindnesses for JUNE!!!!! This website has restored my faith in technology. Because it was technology not paper that saved me this time! :) HOORAY!!!! (can you tell i'm a little excited about this?).

One slight hitch, was that they recorded the lists by weeks and days not by the dates... so week 5 should have been week one of june... etc... I HOPE! So some of these may be right but others are definitely right! :) I did these things, around that time... so fingers crossed i got the rights dates! :) :D

So... Drumroll please... Here are the Kindnesses for...

JUNE 2012

June 1: I helped a neighbour with the groceries carrying them from the car to their unit.

June 2: I let someone one in front of me in heavy traffic and gave them a little wave

June 3: Smiled at strangers who passed me on the street. If they acknowledged me, I said “Hello” or “have a great day”. 

June 4: Made a point of telling my friends and family I love them. I also left post-it notes on the bathroom mirror. 

This is our bathroom... but i only took the photo today... so what I am wearing in that picture is what i am wearing right now! :) The reason is... the post-it notes are still up! They are great to read and are wonderful encouragements when you get up of all times of the day and night! :)

June 5: Returned a stray shopping trolley in the shopping center car park.

June 6: I sent postcards to some friends who live over seas.

June 7: Held the door open for a stranger at the doctors.

June 8: Cuddled my next door neighbours cat – “Ginger Megs” and spent time sitting on our park bench and playing with him. He loves cuddles.

June 9: Gave 5 compliments to 5 different people. I was also generous with my time.

June 10: Had to answer lots of questions about babies and marriage with my 4 year old niece.

June 11: I helped a friend with their to-do list

June 12: I offered to share my umbrella with a stranger. I also donated food to the food bank

June 13: I submitted a POSITIVE feedback form to a business after I had received good service.

June 14: Took mum to a furniture store so she could get a LayZboy chair (that spits her out of it).

June 15: I lent an inspiring book to a friend (“The Power of Kindness”), and I also left some newer magazines at a doctors surgery.

If you want to read any more about this awesome book...then you can check out one of my previous blog post about it here

 

June 16: I took my mum out to lunch at a local restaurant, Thanked my mum for all the things she had done and continues to do for me.

June 17: I had a conversation with someone that I wouldn’t normally chat to.

June 18: Went to a friends house to learn how to use the washing machine, dish washer & heater for mum and I ready for us to house sit.

June 19: Sent around a funny photo so make my friends laugh.

June 20: Distracted mum from her pain by hiring some DVDs and having a movie day at home. Saw movies “Monsters”, “New In Town” & “Monty Python Tribute”

June 21: Supported mum whilst she completed making scarves for my brother-in-laws scout group.

June 22: Took a new Clock, bananas, and deodorant to dads and dropped off a whole lot of Jars at my sisters house for her to use to make jams etc. to be sold as fund-raisers for the school.

June 23 (SUPANOVA): Cheered up a stranger who looked alone (see blog post here).

June 24 (SUPANOVA): Drove a friend to Supanova and then dropped them off at a train station afterwards.

June 25 (my birthday): Made the effort to personally respond to everyone who sent Birthday messages and say “Thank You!”

June 26: Gave 5 compliments to 5 different people. I was also generous with my time.

June 27: I spent some time with a friend and helped her by holding up about 5-6 blankets to be photographed before they were given to a neonatal clinic.

June 28:Spent some time getting mum and I organized to house sit. Plus I made mum cups of tea and did several loads of washing without her asking me to.

June 29 (house sitting): I bought a friend a coffee at the Green house, a Eco friendly coffee shop in the heart of the city. (see www.greenhouseperth.com)

June 30 (house sitting): Mum and I got up at 4.30am and took our friends to the airport, so we could house sit their house. 

NOTE: The big problem with this was that their dog Amber had to be hospitalized on the 29^th of June and came home before they left (assuming things would get better) but that wasn’t the case. So mum and I spent a lot of time with the sick dog on this day and into July. Which was very hard on the couple that went away...

Hopefully now that I have June, I can get on and do JULY!!!! 3 days in a row is pretty good... can I keep it up? we shall see... :) *fingers crossed*

So I will keep you informed about what happened in July with the sick dog and also helping organise a friends wedding! :) Which was awesome! :) I even have a few photos to share!

Okay, well you have probably heard enough from me today! HOORAY for JUNE!!! (ok... now its officially enough). 

Hope you have had or are having a wonderful day!

Luv Daena x