The Bright Side Project*****

TODAY I breathe in Spring. Pulling down on the window shade, feeling it resist, then loosening my grip so it pulls up tightly into a roll, it reveals my morning view. Sliding open the window, I breathe in a new day:  spicy pine tree leaning against the fence, dark mysterious richness of the wet garden below, ephemeral sweetness of flowers born on the breeze.

What scents remind you of the sweetness of Spring?

TIRED OF HEARING NOTHING BUT BAD NEWS? Well, you're not alone. A year or so ago, two New York friends decided to bring a little sunshine into a world of dreary predictions and a weakening economy. On that day (yay for us!), TheBrightSideProject.com was born.

How do they brighten the world, you ask? By giving away goodies every single day. They did this for months on end; now giving away something every week.

And not just anything. Good things. Wonderful things. Beautiful things. All contributed by trendy artists, up-and-coming designers, good companies. Yep. The good stuff.

But wait! It's not exactly free. You have to answer a question and if the contributer picks yours as the best answe, then you get your goodies.

These girls (Miss B & Miss Lindsey) are so chatty & up beat. I just love them.

I mean, look at their website:

Oh. Their mission is a little hard to read so I'll type it out for you:  "The Bright Side Project is here to bring you sunshine everyday with themed giveaways and witty repertoire. We hope to inspire you to stop for a second and remember life is (still) beautiful out there."

How can you not love them?

Even if you don't win, you'll still be happy because now you know where to get some beautiful, unusual products direct from the artist/designer/business like these:


Cake bunting from Kiki La Ru (see http://www.etsy.com/shop/KikiLaRu). Who knew cake could have bunting? Genius!

Pastel spatulas and cupcake apron from Ruby Sparkles (http://rubysparkles.com/):

LOVE THEM and you will too. Stop by and see them at TheBrightSideProject.com

May sunshine surround you,


Catherine

Contributing Every Day--FreeRice.com

ONE OF MY GOALS IS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE WORLD IN SOME SMALL WAY, EVERY DAY. I do that by giving gifts to co-workers for all the holidays throughout the year (FUN!), giving things away to people at work or donating them to Goodwill, making soup for an ailing neighbor, giving used books to Sue at Molly's Cafe for her reading group, giving $20 to a bustling bus boy at a restaurant, sending good thoughts into the world, etc.

I've found a new way to give every day. It's fun, free and easy.

FreeRice.come. Maybe you've heard of it, but do you play every day?

There's a one-time sign up where you set your name, email, etc.

After that, you log in and select the answer to a vocabulary word. For each right answer, they'll donate 10 grains of rice through the World Food Programme to help end hunger.

I love how minuscule [very small; tiny] pieces of rice start piling up in my "bowl" when I answer correctly. And when they tally my score, it makes me want to play just one more minute so I can earn more rice. Genius! Within a few minutes, you can easily earn over 1000 pieces of rice!

It's free to us. Honest. FreeRice is a non-profit website run by the United Nations. Sponsors pay to advertise on the site and they're the ones who actually pay for the rice.

Sometimes I'm appalled [filled with consternation or dismay] at how long I'm on the internet. Now, I like knowing I can spend a few of those minutes having fun, improving my vocabulary, and helping someone eat today.

Since 2007 when they began, FreeRice has raised enough rice to feed 4.3 million people.That's a lot of rice. Little things CAN add up to big things.

Sometimes they'll list your name showing how many questions you answered today. They also list top players and top groups. You can even keep track your friends, in case you're a teensy-weensy [tiny] bit competitive.

I try to play virtually [almost but not quite; nearly] every day.

How about you?

May abundance surround you,


Catherine