10,000 Hits Celebration: Day One

To celebrate our 10,000th post Danielle and I are just tickled to bring you all a week of inspiration, pay it forward challenges and prizes!!! Whichever is the reason you are here, we hope to share some of the joy all of you lovely visitors have brought to us while sharing your thoughts and comments.

Be sure to read all the way to the end for the prize reveal!

one. Life can be tough, right? Some days it's hard to find even a little joy in your daily routine. You'd like to do something about that but what? And how? How can you do just one small thing to make yourself--and even better, someone else--have a tiny little moment of Yippee? Read on to find out.

two. Relax. No, I mean it. You have to start by relaxing. Realize that every single part of your day or your life is not a moment of high import or drama. Learn to separate the very important from the less important. Here's a hint: there is a lot more of the latter. Let some things roll off you. And when you've mastered that, start seeing that some of those things are actually pretty funny. The guy in the car who puts your life and his at risk by passing you recklessly finds himself sitting in front of you at the next red light. The kid zooming around you on his skateboard, with a shaved head and sporting a ring in his lip is wearing a t-shirt that reads, "Grandma's Angel." Sometimes life is just funny.

three. Practice being observant. Who are those people on the bus with you every day? Or the elevator? Or the lunchroom? Who is the lady surrounded by bags who sits on the corner as you walk to work? You don't have to get nosy, just look at them and see them clearly. What can you learn about them just by looking at them?

four. Let some ideas roll through your mind. Nothing scary; you're not making a commitment here. You're just thinking. What is one small thing that you could do that would make any of those people smile? A cup of coffee for the guy in the elevator? A helping hand to the harried mother who rides the bus with you? Instead of a dollar for the lady on the corner, what if you gave her a supermarket gift card? This part takes some practice. Whatever you think you might want to do should be a comfortable fit for you and a simple and non-threatening gesture to whoever receives it.

five. Don't think about it too much. Once you've decided on one small act of kindness, don't worry it into submission. And don't make a list. Remember, these are random acts. One at a time as they seem to arise is just fine.

six. Do it. Take the step. They will be surprised, maybe wary at first. Roll with it. With luck, you'll get to watch them as they discover the small gift they've just been given. Remember, none of us is really used to this stuff, right? It will take time for random acts of kindness to be accepted as the lighter-than-air little moments they are.

Resource:  EHow

Here is the first of five challenges for this week
Tuesday - Day one: Send an anonymous card
Think about someone who deserves to know that he or she is worthy of love or as an acknowledgment of what he or she has done. How often have we been rendered good customer service and a “thank you” is all we give? How about taking it one step further? Send a card. You may not even want to sign off with your name.

After you have completed the challenge, please comment on this post. Feel free to tell what you did, long or short story, we want to read it! For each entry to the challenge you will get a "virtual ticket" for our prize drawing each day. Prizes will be revealed along with the challenges and winners will be announced next Monday. If you "share the love" and post the challenge to your Facebook account, you'll get another ticket. Just leave and additional comment letting us know that you did it and BAM... another chance to win.

Let's fill this empty jar with tickets for the drawing....

I will post how full it is getting each and every day.

Everyone who comments on the day of the challenge

will be eligible for the daily drawing, and all names will be

eligible for the final drawing..... on Saturday.

You won't want to miss this!

Oh... and last but not least....

here's a BIG prize to kick off our first day of challenges:

This is a Simply Sent Card Kit from Stampin' Up!

Once upon a time I designed the cards for this kit,

you'll love working with the watercolor crayons.