day 177 : drop off {more!} books at a little free library

i think i have used this as a good deed at least 4 or 5 times in the last 177 days!
but, i dont mind!
i absolutely LOVE little free libraries and feel super lucky that we have so many in our neighborhood & community.
{on my new bus route to work, i ride past a few i have never been to & one of these days, i am going to stop, just so i can check them out!}
i recently finished these two books, so i decided to drop them off at a nearby LFL.

not too long ago, i grabbed this book from one of the boxes. i started it, didnt love it & decided to re-read the harry potter series for the 9th time ;)

i love the idea that people come to a central location & either drop off or pick up books. i love it. the thoughts of different people in different homes at different stages // emotions in their life ; all sharing a piece of literature... love it!

day 176 : attend a *free* fitness class

another super easy good deed! 

{when i first started this project, i was so afraid of running out of ideas. now that i am almost 200 days in, i find that opportunities for good deeds 'just happen.'}

i live a few blocks away from our local athleta shop!

each month, athleta brings in local trainers and fitness professionals & offers free classes.

i don't own a gym membership & because of the weather, i haven't been on my bike all season.

i love the opportunity to work super hard & meet new folks! 

i took a 60 min bootcamp class & my rear was seriously sore for the next 4 days.

{without a doubt, i work far harder in a setting like that than i do by myself with my fitness videos!}  

taking care of my health & supporting a local fitness pro totally counts as a good deed!

day 175 : support a local coffee shop

hi, you guys! 

i havent blogged in such a long time, but i have about 20 good deeds i recently completed ; so that should help me stay on track! ;)

this one was super simple! 

we are members of a really great CSA & each week, we pick up our boxes at blue ox coffee. 

{you have heard it a billion times, but} this winter has been super brutal.

its been pretty hard on a lot of small businesses. when its -35* for long stretches of time, people stay in. and over time, that hurts the 'little guy.'

a couple weeks ago, blue ox posted a super honest plea for help on their facebook page.

christina also wrote a really great article here.

the day after this was posted, blake and i bundled up & headed over to the shop. our small contribution certainly didnt make a huge difference ; but when a community // neighborhood bands together, good things are sure to happen.

if you are local {or know someone who is} ; blue ox could sure use your business.

{bonus : their coffee, service & dedication to their community is awesome!}

day 174 : kindness carousel {week 13}

happy friday, everybody!
lets spread some kindness!
{kindness carousel is a weekly feature where we share some of the kindest, most uplifting links from around the web!}

1) i am always a sucker for posts like these! 33 pictures that will make you proud to be a human being!

2) have you seen these underwear?! they can be used in place of panty liners {!} are odor-resistant and are full of amazing technology! {i am planning on purchasing the 5 pack ; i will report back!} super-bonus : for every pair you buy, they donate 7 reusable pads to girls in need. {YES!}

3) i posted about this earlier this week, but you can go here to send dominic a birthday card!

4) i often check out the website for the city i grew up in {i havent lived there in 20 years ; but some of my family still does} this note in the 'letters to the editor' section made me all warm & fuzzy! {small-town minnesota nice at its finest!}

5) {i am not sure if youll be able to see this because of my facebook privacy settings ; let me know} ; but speaking of random acts of kindness : this note left on someones car... goosebumps, man. strangers spreading kindness ;)

6) live in the twin cities? looking for something fun to do on saturday? how about the edina art crawl! i will be judging the artwork ; if you are coming, let me know. lets hug!

7) are you celebrating lent this year? how about spending the remaining days giving back & creating a stronger sense of community? i love this.

8) did you see this video, yet? folks running a race made a detour to shake hands with {and thank} a 95-year old vet!

9) how about this article? stop performing random acts of kindness! 

10) i feel really lucky to have been interviewed by the super-talented liv lane for this months issue of savvy.mn magazine. you can check out the article here.

have an awesome weekend!
{i am going to try to share a fun good deed on saturday!}

day 173 : thank the driver & {I GOT A NEW JOB}

you guys!
the 10-day forecast doesnt show ANY negative temps!
NONE!
{i am not sure that any 10-day forecast this year showed ALL above-zero temps ; BRING.IT.ON!}

as you read this, i am on my way to day #2 at my new job!
i was going to tell you all about it, but maybe for a different day...
{sometimes i totally struggle with the balance of sharing my 'offline' life & being able to 'keep some of it for myself.' that makes sense, right?}

anyways, because it still looks like this, i am not biking!

my new job is 3 days a week & until it thaws out ; i am bussing it.

if i cant bike, taking the bus is *always* my #2 choice!

the drivers are rad, the routes are pretty easy to navigate {i did get off at the wrong stop the other day, through..} and its pretty affordable.

every single time i get on the bus, i *always* greet the driver & ask them how they are. and when i get off, i *always* thank them. always! {mom, youre proud, right?!} 

yesterday, i got off the bus & my transfer bus was coming in the opposite direction. there was NO WAY i could have made it! i had to cross the street {wait for the light} and then run half a block to catch it. my driver honked the horn, and the second driver waited for me. 

{yay!}

so, while i always make an effort to thank my driver ; i am especially grateful for them this season. our roads are awful! inches of pure, glare ice & crappy conditions.. 

do you ride the bus? 

day 172 : give Dominic the best birthday EVER!

you guys! 

this one is so sweet! and easy! 

my friend tara recently shared this link with me! 

dominic is 10 {almost 11}, lives in michigan and is dealing with some pretty serious health issues. so serious, that he is home-bound right now and turning 11 at the end of this month.

his parents created this facebook page & are asking folks to flood their mailbox for dominic's 11th birthday.

he cant have a party, so his family is hoping that folks from all over the world will help him celebrate! 

seriously, how awesome is this! 

think about all of the amazing kindness opportunities we have because of technology! 

you can send a little boy you will never meet a card to celebrate his special day! 

i think about my 11th birthday and what it would have meant to have gotten cards and well-wishes from strangers!

not only did my friend tara share this with me, but she bought {and stamped} 13 cards that she is giving out to folks to send to him.

{i feel SO lucky to have people in my life who care so hard about others!}

if you want to participate, you can send cards to : 

Lil D Tyner
P.O Box 1627

Brighton, MI 48116

our card is going out in the mail this afternoon & his birthday is the 28th!

if you send a card, snap a photo & email it to me! id love to share it with others! 

day 171 : the March Be Nice Box reveal!

its march! 

MARCH!

we are already 80+ days into 2014 ; so crazy.. 

the march boxes went out last week, so i thought it would be fun to do another reveal!

you can check out what was in the february box here.

this months theme : talking to strangers ; let's be friends!

{all of the good deeds involve reaching out to people we don't know!}

i will be blogging about the 12 good deeds in the box throughout the month!

our charity : project SUCCESS {they are a Mpls-based organization working super-hard to instill confidence and opportunity into local youth!} you can read more about them here. 

when i sent out the february boxes, i was just so pumped ; i REALLY loved the feb boxes. i didnt really know where i 'wanted to go' with the march box. i sat on it for a week & the box really came together. i really care about this box! reaching out to strangers is just so powerful! 

i made some changes last month with how i put things together and what the boxes look like ; and i am proud of how this box came together! 

chocolate chip cookies for 'random acts of cookie kindness' {cookies were donated by wild harvest organic} // a pre-stamped card & postcard pack {work by adam turman, myself & junzo terada} // milk & dark chocolate covered raisins // this months gift for subscribers : art prints from lori hetteen {there were six different prints that went out} // 10 pennies with smiley faces to help spread 'positive change' 

stay tuned this month ; im excited to share the acts of kindness that go along with the box!
and if you are interested in april, there are 28 boxes left! sign up here.