day 108 : donate to the food shelf

this one is easy!
two weeks ago, the healthy living summit was in town & we had so many generous sponsors!
each person that attended walked away with TONS of free stuff. i mean it, TONS!
i dont need tons of stuff.
i really am one of those people that takes what i need {in that moment} and is fine giving the rest away.
personally, i find that living with 'stuff'' makes me stressed. also, there are so many great groups and organizations ready to give 'my stuff' to people who really deserve it.

when i got home from the conference, i kept a few things {a couple pouches of almonds, a box of cereal, ect} and i put everything else in a reusable bag & walked up to the coop.
at the entryway of our coop, there is a donation box that benefits the local food shelf.

so easy. i have stuff. more than i need. i give my extra stuff to people that could benefit. *poof* everybody benefits!

day 107 : be inspired by a total stranger

oh, you guys!
this story had me in tears!
i dont want to spoil the story ; just take a few minutes & watch!
such a simple & inspiring story.
we can all make the planet better!

day 106 : buy underwear

i love a good kickstarter campaign! 

this one ends in a few days and its one of the best yet! 

super cute padded bike underwear!!!

if you are a {girl} biker ; you know that you either wear unflattering spandex shorts or get a sore rear!

there are two types of padded underwear offered & the black & white stripes are my favorite! 

if you are interested in supporting this campaign, you can go here! 

but hurry, it ends in 2 days!

{also : if you dont have $50 for the underwear, you can get this super cute tank top for $35}

ps : you can still support this project with smaller amounts! 

day 105 : help save a kitty!

are you a cat lover?
do you have $5 to help save a cats life?
i am a huge dog lover {duh} & quite a few of my acts have been dog-related.

BUT, todays act of kindness is for eden the cat!
my friend jen was driving the other day & noticed a kitty laying by the side of the road.
she pulled over & noticed the cat had been hit by a car & was in pretty rough shape.
jen took off her new scarf & wrapped the cat up {safe & sound} and took her to the vet.
they named her eden after the women who made the scarf {awww}

eden is still in pretty rough shape ; a broken jaw, lots of swelling near her eye & she needs a big surgery.
you can read more about eden & her story here.
also, jen is trying to raise $1,500 to cover edens medical expenses & is SO CLOSE to hitting the goal.
if you have $5 and want to save this cats life ; you can go here to donate!

i have known jen since high school & she really is one of the most inspirational people i know!
she has such a kind heart and really does work hard to make the planet better.

day 104 : take a bath {this totally counts}

so, i am a bit behind on documenting my acts of kindness. they have all happened, but dont be shocked when you see something from a couple weeks ago! 

{this is one of those...}

friday night {the night before my race} ; i wanted to take it easy, stay relaxed & keep my muscles as loose as possible.

i biked 8 miles to work & back, took the dog for a walk & totally treated myself to a bubble bath! 

{i am convinced that self-care does make the planet better!}

i poured in CUPS&CUPS of epsom salts, used a chunk of bubble bath from LUSH & read a few issues of my favorite magazines.

bonus : i took a bubble bath when i got home from my race, as well! 

day 103 : be really nice, have fun & thank volunteers

if you follow me on social media {or my other blog}, you know that i completed my first duathlon this weekend.

i have been obnoxiously vocal over the past 3 months, which has really helped keep me accountable! 

you can read my full race recap here! 

my good deed for saturday was to really have a great attitude & cheer on other racers AND thank all of the volunteers! 

there were TONS of volunteers throughout the race course & they were all so kind ; they cheered on EVERYBODY! clapping, encouraging words, high fives! 

i thanked each and every volunteer as i passed ; without volunteers, races like this dont happen.

also, when you are digging deep & wrestling with your mind, awesome words from strangers can really help turn the race around.

also, the bike portion of the race was 22 miles long and pretty hilly. i passed quite a few folks during the ride & took a second to chat with most of them! i encouraged riders when we were heading up huge hills and cheered for riders coming in to town as i was running my final leg.

i am convinced that if we all reached out to one person every single day, the planet would be better.

it feels so great building people up & giving them confidence! 

i passed a woman on the bike & she yelled 'yeah! go pink socks, you are awesome!' and as i was running the last leg, she was finishing up her ride & we both 'thumbs up-ed' each other! i love it! 

day 102 : donate a book

this morning i posted about organizing books inside a little free library & this afternoons act of kindness is ALSO about books {and the little free library}

last weekend, after our walk with daphne {where i straightened up the first library} we headed to the farmers market. the market is a few blocks away & organized by a local hardware store. in front of their parking lot, they have EIGHT little free libraries {so cool!}

i just finished a book & decided to drop it in one of the boxes.

so simple! 

tell me : do you have little free libraries in your community? have you ever used one before? 

day 101 : clean up someone elses mess

did you see my 100th act from yesterday? {i just love it so much!}

last weekend, blake & i were taking daphne for a super-long walk & came by this little free library. its been here for over a year & we have used it a few times.

{do you know little free libraries? they are boxes that can be in front of homes or businesses & they are full of books. 'take one, leave one' is the motto. we have over 15 in our neighborhood [that i know of] ; they are always so fun to stumble across}

i always stop & check out the books when i find one.

and this one was a mess! books were everywhere.

so, i straightened up a bit. and yes i love organizing ; but its hard to see the books when they are all over the place. ;)

so simple & it really took about 45 seconds.

{more proof that you dont need tons of time or money to make the planet a teeny bit better!}

day 100!!! : the kindness flash mob that will keep me smiling FOREVER!

a milestone number calls for a really awesome act of kindness! 

this weekend, the healthy living summit was held in minneapolis. its a blogging conference for health // fitness-minded folks.

all the sessions were held on saturday, but there were various 'fit mingles' held on thursday & friday {think 'happy hour' but with a fitness-twist}

i had the opportunity to lead a fit mingle on friday morning! i decided to combine two of my favorite things ; being nice & biking!

humble pie farm generously donated 60 mini bouquets of super beautiful flowers! friday morning, i took the bus downtown with two big buckets FULL of flowers! 

a group of us headed to nicollet mall {a pedestrian-only street right in the heart of downtown}, divided up the bouquets and handed out the flowers to complete strangers.

we gave the flowers to girls on bikes, toddlers, grandpas, people in power suits & everybody in between. it was so amazing watching people light up once they were presented with flowers.

one woman was thisclose to tears ; she was so thankful & so appreciative.

{mission : accomplished! my whole goal for this project is to make humans feel amazing & to remember how important they are!}

it didnt take very long to pass out 60 bouquets of flowers ; i think everybody was so excited & really caught up in how great it felt to watch peoples reactions.

once our flowers were gone, we walked a couple blocks and checked out nice ride bikes! nice ride is the minneapolis // st paul bike sharing program. you purchase a day pass & then get to ride from one station to another ; as many times as you would like.

we took a short bike ride down to the spoon & cherry and the sculpture garden. it was really neat because nobody had ever been to minneapolis before; so i got to see the city through the eyes of tourists & visitors.

i always think this city is awesome ; but its so fun to be around when OTHERS think its awesome!

after our bike ride back downtown, we all went out for a late lunch. 

it was a really fun afternoon. before coming to minneapolis, none of us knew each other & we spent hours together. it was really powerful. we made the planet a little better, took a bike ride together & chatted for an hour over lunch. i think when we all got up & left the table, we all felt connected as friends.

i love that! 

also, some shout outs! 

*jennifer from humble pie farms! she donated the flowers & hung out with me as we put the bouquets together! 

*everybody from nice ride! i contacted customer service before the ride & scoped out the stations to make sure it would work. their service & systems are awesome. 

*mindy was part of the HLS dream team & fully supported my 'kindness nice ride' idea!

*and a huge shout out to all of the girls that came out & brightened minneapolis : jen, ashleigh, kelly, brooke, megan and alison!

day 99 : play skee-ball! & buy someone a game!

hi, you guys! 

i am thisclose to hitting 100 acts of kindness! 

this weekend was the healthy living summit, here in minneapolis ; so i got a TON of acts of kindness in! im excited to share them all over the next couple of days.

thursday night, kelly, ashleigh & i headed to pat's tap in south minneapolis. they have food, a bar & skee-ball. after our meal, we each played a few games.

the quarter in my machine was jammed, so i kept getting all my games for free.

once we were finished, i left my quarter near the slot so someone else could play a game on me.

and as a side note : i havent played skee-ball for years ; definitely one of the highlights of my weekend!!

day 98 : drop a note

todays good deed is SO simple!
i havent seen my great-uncle {my grandmas brother} for quite a while & wanted to send him a postcard.
he is in his 90s and still super active. he plays golf throughout the summer, drives & gets coffee with his friends each morning.
hes a great guy & means a lot to my family.

his wife has some medical issues, so she has been in the home for a few years. she doesnt recognize any of us {even him}. my grandpa passed away three years ago & since then, my grandma & great-uncle spend tons of time together. they eat supper together most nights, go to the cafe for coffee and provide each other with support and company.
i hope that my sister and i can be that close when we are in our 80s and 90s.

also, the postcard is done by adam turman ; hes an incredible twin cities-based artist

day 97 : get a MASSAGE

ohhhh baby ; i have been waiting for this!
when i knew i would be leaving my job & would have a couple weeks off ; two things i wanted to do were get a haircut {done} & get a massage.
i have been training really hard for my duathlon {12 days!!} & wanted to do something nice for myself ; sore muscles & self-care = win, win.
today is my day! this morning, i am heading over to a local spot & getting a sports massage. IT bands, calves, shoulders ; ahhhhh.

this counts as an act of kindness because a) i am supporting a local business and b) its important to take care of myself!

image source here //

day 96 : buy a bar!

do you guys know project 7?
they are one of my favorite organizations ; they support seven different causes, everything from medical care to trees to fighting hunger.
you can purchase shirts {i have one!}, coffee, mints and more. each item in the shop goes towards a different cause. for example : the shirt i bought provides 25 meals to people in MY community!

a few weeks ago, i was out of town & spotted these fruit & grain bars in the local grocery store!
so awesome! they are whole grain & made with organic ingredients. bonus : for every two boxes purchased, the company donates meals to folks in need.

i really believe that the 'buy one, give one' movement will change the world. using my purchase power & my voice to stand up for causes, brands and organizations that are awesome is such a cool feeling ;)

have you seen project 7 bars in YOUR grocery store yet? 

day 95 : share a beautiful video

take 8 minutes & watch this video! 

charity : water is such an incredible organization ; i love what they are doing. they really are making the world a better place.

this month, they are raising money to build 100 wells in india.

one of the things they do SO well is make videos that really speak to you. ive never seen a charity : water video that hasnt made me cry {in a good way}. its amazing to see what clean water does to make life easier, safer & better.

we are SO lucky to not have to worry about disease or unsafe water ; we just turn on the faucet and drive.

take time & watch this video.

if you want to donate, you can go here. 

and even if you dont have the means to donate right now ; share it and tell your friends! 

day 93 : high-five ALL the bikers!

good morning!
today, i am biking over to st paul & spending my morning volunteering for the st paul classic.

its a yearly bike ride that goes around the city of st paul ; you can pick your route, anywhere from 15-45 miles.
i have ridden the classic a few times in the past, but decided to be on the OTHER side of the race this year.
i am always so impressed at how many people it takes to put an awesome event together {there are 400 volunteers for the classic!} ; people to control traffic, hand out bananas, cheer on the riders, ect.
once i come back from the event, i will post a few photos of my morning!

day 94 : donate a bag of dog food

i am back from my volunteer shift in st paul {i biked 40+ miles round trip!}

a few months ago, we pulled a pup from doggy death-row & kept her for a week, until she found her forever family!
the rescue that we saved her through, gave us a HUGE bag of dog food. when she was being adopted, her new family said that they didnt need the bag {they used a different brand}
so, here we sit with a large bag of dog food {its weight-control, so its no good for daph}

there are so many amazing dog rescues in town that are always looking for food donations.
yesterday, i volunteered with secondhand hounds, so it made sense to give them the bag of food to be used for their dogs waiting for a home.
this is such an easy act of kindness. shelters are ALWAYS looking for donations ; towels, toys, food, leashes, ect. also, if you are a runner, there are always high-energy dogs that would LOVE a 30 min run outside!

day 92 : support a friend walking for the animals

today is all about the animals! 

this morning i volunteered with a rescue group & now i am supporting a friend of mine who is participating in a walk for animals.

my friend mckel {hey girl!} is walking & fundraising for farm sanctuary today! 

they are doing really incredible things in the name of animal rescue.

to check out farm sanctuary ; go here! 

since i am not working right now, i cant give a ton of money to mckel ; but i so admire what she is doing & her incredible heart! 

you can go here to donate to her page

image source // 

day 91 : volunteer for woofstock

happy saturday! 

each september, our neighborhood hosts woofstock ; which is a dog-centered event. there are products, fun things to do, rescues & just a bunch of dogs & dog lovers that hang out for an afternoon.

last summer we took daphne {before she was dealing with barrier aggression} & we had such a great time.

we will try it again this year, but she really, really struggles around dogs when she is on a leash.

i will be volunteering with a local animal rescue {they do really amazing things!} handing out water bottles, hanging with dogs that are looking for families & talking to folks.

if you are local, stop by the secondhand hounds booth in the morning and say hey! 

day 90 : attend a karma yoga class

i have talked before about my love of our local hot yoga studio ; but seriously, they are just amazing!
every friday night, they offer a $5 karma yoga class.
you pay $5, which goes {100%} to an awesome charity {it changes each month} & you receive a 60 min hot yoga practice.


i love the sense of community i feel when i am in class.
also, the 105* room does amazing things for my legs {and my mind!}

image found here

day 89 : give a police dog a bulletproof vest

happy friday!
*thanks SO much for all your kind comments // texts // emails about cutting off my hair yesterday! i appreciate it!*
yesterday, i spent quite a bit of time editing individual posts and updating the 'good deeds' list. you can check it out here. while i was going through all the posts, it was really fun to see some of the things i have done in the past {almost} 100 days! pretty cool.

day 89 : help raise money for purchase bulletproof vests for police k-9s

one of our local hardware shops {they are super dog friendly} is trying to raise enough money to buy one vest for a dog in the minneapolis k-9 unit.
did you know that a k-9 police vest costs OVER $2,000!?! {i had no idea!}
now through the middle of the month, if you donate money to the fund, they will give you a free 5-gallon pail AND a huge bag of homemade dog treats. {treats are sold out}

i slipped some money in the jar and left with my new 5 gallon pail.
as i did more research, i was shocked that as the largest city in minnesota, we do not have ANY vests for our police dogs. usually, they are the first to enter dangerous situations ; they totally deserve protection.
also awesome : the owners of the hardware store are DOUBLING all donations.
{very cool!}

if you are local & want to help, you can read more here.
if you are NOT local & want to help, call your local police station and ask if your local k9 unit has any vests {or if there are any local fundraisers that need some money // help}

day 88 : CHOP OFF MY HAIR

its true ; i did it!

i have always wanted to donate my hair ; but its never been long enough to do so.

recently though, it had gotten SO LONG! like, so long that when i would roll over at night, my hair would get stuck on my back & it would hurt to move.

and now that i am not working ; i told myself i would treat myself to a haircut.

yesterday, i did a bunch of research on different organizations and chose to donate to pantene's beautiful lengths program.

{and just an ethical note : pantene is owned by proctor & gamble, who do bad things in the name of animal testing. i do not support p&g, BUT in researching all of the hair donation organizations ; this is the one i chose}

making wigs and hair pieces for women living with cancer is a beautiful thing and i am happy to make my small contribution.

september 7th is 'national donate your hair day!' i know i am a bit early, but today i decided to chop it all off! 

i went to aveda & monique {hey girl!} chopped EIGHT INCHES OFF!!

i love it. its long enough to go in a ponytail & its light enough that it doesnt make my neck sweat {eww}

my job now is to package up my ponytail & ship it to pantene! {just a chunk of hair in an envelope ; no big deal...}

if you have any questions about the different donation organizations, id love to help.

and also, big 'whoop whoop' to monique! she is awesome and did a great job. 

have you ever donated your hair? would you?

day 87 : buy a stranger breakfast

long time, no post! 

here is the deal : i LOVE this project. i really do. i am proud of it & it reminds me how good & kind people are each day.

i have been neglecting this blog, mostly because of lack of time. right now, i am about 30 days BEHIND! yikes. 

so, since i am not working right now, my goal is to complete TWO acts of kindness each day for the next 3 weeks.

once i am caught up {and this page is updated} ; i will go back to one post a day.

last night, i spent a couple hours researching awesome causes and organizations and have some really awesome acts planned. woo hoo! 

so, lets get back into it! 

forgive the bad photo ; i was walking {action shot!!}

a while back, my awesome friend kate sent me four $5 gift cards for brueggers bagels. there is one at the end of my block, so i figured they would make awesome 'acts of kindness'

this morning, i walked over & sat on their patio. a young guy {my age-ish} came by with his son & i handed them a gift certificate. the dad was super appreciative! he looked at the boy {maybe 3 years old} and said 'this means, its our job to do something nice for a stranger today.'

mission accomplished! 

so simple!