Easter

The past 40 days have flown by. 10 days ago, I started thinking that this whole list was a bit ambitious and didn't know how I was going to finish. But, I'm proud to say that I was able to get it all done! For me, I got a lot more out of doing this than giving something up like every other year.

I'm a big fan of Pope Francis in these first couple weeks of his papacy. He's demonstrated his humility, concern for the poor, and the importance of helping others. In his Good Friday homily, he said, "Christians must respond to evil with good, taking the cross upon themselves as Jesus did." I'm usually not a fan of telling people all the good deeds you've done, but I think it's important to see that there are a ton of different ways you can help others. These are 40 easy ways that you can do good and brighten someone's day because you really don't know what other people are going through. Some of these do require planning, but some of them are pretty easy to do. Most of the stuff I got from Target so if you're anything like me when I go there and find yourself buying random things, try to pick up something from this list and pass it on! If you're short on money, you can always donate your time to helping others as well. With the exception of the animal shelter and soup kitchen, these were done in places I was going to be at anyways. I do have to warn you though, the animal shelter one was dangerous because Cammy and I almost came home with five puppies! I think my favorite ones to do were leaving change at the fountain and buying carousel rides for a bunch of kids with Andrew--it was a lot of fun and super easy and was so cute to see him get so excited to help others.

Huge shout out to everyone who participated in the 40 acts and especially to those who helped me finish each one. As hectic as it was trying to cross these all off, it's been really fun and rewarding to see people's reactions and to hear stories about people paying it forward. Thanks for joining me on this journey--Happy Easter everyone!

xoxo,
Linh

#17: Leave diapers and wipes in a public bathroom.

I tried to this one at the McDonald's by myself because after doing the bubbles at the playground at Lake Elkhorn, I realized a lot of the parents were taking their kids across the street to McDonald's to use the bathrooms there. However, when I tried to drop the diapers and wipes off there, I found out they didn't have one of the changing tables there. So, I relied on my go-to place: Chickfila.This place is constantly packed with little kids as well so hopefully this helps a mom out!

#2: Give out bubbles to the kids you see throughout the day.

Myron and I went to the park today to hang out because it was a gorgeous day. We also brought along 20 tubes of bubbles from Target to pass out to the kids that were there on the playground. They loved them!

#11: Baby sit for a mom.

I have no idea how parents do it--whenever I take Nat or AB for a long period of time I'm exhausted afterward! Even more impressive are single parents--how do they do it by themselves?

One of my coworkers, Christie, just happened to stop by my office yesterday while I was talking about all the acts of kindness I had left on my list. I joked around about how I would love to take her 9 year old son for a couple hours today and she told me she would love it--so I picked him up today! Myron and I spent a couple hours together--we went to lunch, did some shopping at Target, and went to the park where he helped me cross off another one of my Lent acts. I told Christie to take it easy and just take some time for herself because she does so much all the time. She works full time, is in school, and cares for Myron. But, she used the time apart to clean the house and get ready for Easter. This was something pretty easy to do and seemed to mean the world to Christie!

I think I tired him out...

#15: Donate a coloring book and crayons to the pediatric department of a hospital.

I definitely seemed to save everything that needed to be delivered until the end. I've had the coloring book and crayons for a while, I just haven't been able to find time to go to a hospital. I like these coloring books because they can be pulled out of the book and there are individual crayon packs for each kid so lots of kids can benefit from this one! Teddi Stern (the co-mastermind between all these acts of kindness) helped me finish this though. Teeds is a pediatric nurse at Maryland so I was able to drop these off with her today and she'll be bringing them with her to work. Thanks TJS!

#33: Thank a soldier for their service.

This one was more difficult than it sounds. Well, it could've been really easy but I put all these rules on it and made it hard. When Tiffany/Greg originally helped me think of this one, we said it could just be seeing a random person out and saying thank you. It would be brownie points if they were out somewhere I was dining and I picked up their check. We also decided that people at work couldn't count because I work with so many military people. 

Problem was, outside of work, I never saw anyone out in uniform in the past 40 days. So, I got a little desperate. I found a website that you could send thank you cards or cards of support to and they'd distribute them to deployed troops. Greg told me that wasn't good enough, so I thought bigger. This entire Lenten period I've wanted to include Chickfila somehow since it's one of my favorite places. One of the kids that works the front desk at St. Louis now works at Chickfila, William. I reached out to William and asked if he could help me and he immediately said yes. I wrote a card to say thank you and came in to buy a $10 gift card. I put both in an envelope and gave it to William to pass off to the next military person that comes in. This way it's also completely random! 

#10: Thank my mail carrier.

My best friend Chris once told me that I could make friends with a wall if I wanted to. That said, I guess it makes sense that I've become friendly with the mail carrier at my work. Her name is Dionne and she's awesome--rain or shine, she's there. When she's out and there's someone else delivering our mail, she gets really upset when it's not done correctly and constantly apologizes. I haven't seen her in a couple weeks and was at the post office a couple days ago. I ended up talking to a supervisor about something else so I asked if she knew Dionne and knew what happened to her. Apparently she broke her ankle so she can't work in the field and instead has to stay at the post office and work in the back. I asked if I could drop off something for her and if she could get it to her, and she said yes! I dropped off a box of girl scout cookies (Dionne has a sweet tooth) with a note telling her how much we appreciate her hard work. I think the mailman I dropped it off to was jealous. ;)

#30: Take a package to someone going through chemo.

The Claudia Mayer Cancer Resource Center at Howard County General is an awesome place. They offer a lot of help to cancer patients and their families: lending library, wig salon, prosthetic & aesthetic services, complimentary medicine including acupuncture, yoga, and tai chi, and so much more. Since I don't know anyone currently going through chemo, I decided to bring my care package to them. They've agreed to give the package to a random client who comes in. (They were shocked that I was just giving it to a random stranger!) It was super convenient from my house too...right down the street! 

Inside my bag:
- mints
- tissues
- chapstick
- notebook & folder
- pen
- hand lotion
**If you don't have time to go pick up things for a bag, they also accept checks!

Claudia Mayer Cancer Resource Center at Howard County General Hospital
10710 Charter Drive, Suite G050 
Columbia, MD 21044
Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 5:00pm (Tuesday evenings until 7:00pm)

#38: Leave detergent at a laundromat.

When's the last time you've seen a laundromat? I thought I had seen them frequently until I tried to knock this one off my list. I finally decided to take another approach--college dorm laundry rooms! I enlisted the help of one of the Student Terrapin Club executive committee members--Dominic Fuecker. Dominic met up with me tonight to take a bottle of laundry detergent from me and placed it in one of the dorm laundry rooms. Thank you Dominic!! 

#34: Be a mentor.

A couple years ago I had the honor of going back to my alma mater and serving as the assistant JV field hockey coach. It was so cool to be back at my old school and coaching young girls in one of my passions. It's been awesome to see them grow up over the years (my freshmen are now seniors and they just won the state championship). I've kept in touch with most of them, especially Stephanie McGowan.

I knew Steph before coming into coach because she worked the front desk at St. Louis and was always there when I had rehearsals for Mass with Paul. She's the cutest because she always talks about how I'm one of her mentors and how she looks up to me. We've been trying to have dinner for the past couple months so luckily I was able to make it on her calendar tonight and catch up! Love you Steph--so proud of the amazing young woman you've become. xoxo

#31: Add money to someone’s meter that is almost expiring.

This one was hard to do since I'm not in a lot of places that has meters and places that I've been have electronic meters now instead of filling each one. So, to get around this tonight, I taped a dollar for someone to use to fill their meter. The guys behind me were great because they said that they could pay their own meter and that they would leave the dollar for someone else to use that could really need it. :) 

#6: Donate stuffed animals to a fire station.

My mom has been on my case for a while about coming over to her house to get rid of things I have there. So, I came over and cleaned out some of the stuffed animals we've kept in the toy room (it was weird going in there to see things I haven't seen in years!). My roommate Cameron is a Howard County Firefighter so it made this one a little easy because I just gave him a bag to bring with him to work tomorrow! He said that this was a great one because it's unadvertised in fire stations but they could always use little stuffed animals to keep on the fire trucks for when there's scared children at locations that they visit.

Natalie tried to convince me to let her keep the frog but I tried to explain to her that little kids that are scared needed it more than she did. I have a feeling she's going to make me buy her something to make up for it in the near future...

#5: Bring store bought dessert for a police station.

This was an easy one, not sure why I didn't tackle this sooner. I just went to Food Lion, had the bakery decorate a cookie cake saying thank you, and dropped it off at the police station in Fulton. The officers at the front desk were so surprised and excited!

#36: Donate clothes to charity.

I'm so busy with work and extracurricular activities that I often find it easier to just buy new clothes than to stay home for a couple hours and do laundry. :) I did manage to find some time this past weekend (in between watching basketball games and sleeping in an attempt to get better) to clean out my closet. I was able to fill up three whole boxes with donations! Luckily, a Goodwill store opened up in Columbia so it was super close for me to drop off the boxes during my lunch break.

Goodwill
9097 Snowden River Parkway
Columbia, MD 21046
410-872-0134
Donation Hours:
Mon-Sat: 9am to 5pm
Sunday: 11am to 5pm

Sorry for the boring picture, I forgot to take a picture before I packed them in the car and they were so quick at Goodwill in taking them in that I didn't get a better one!

#22: Write a card to your parents.

I actually decided to do this one just for my mom. This year has been kind of crazy already for her--dealing with my dad's surprise triple bypass, the long recovery that's come with it, and her decision to close her bridal shop. She's held it together as best as she could all while making her delicious food and thanking all the visitors for stopping by the hospital and the house. She's truly an amazing woman.

This past week, Natalie got sick, then Binh got sick, then Andrew got sick, my dad got sick, and then this past weekend I got sick. When I'm sick, I'm probably one of the most un-fun people to be around. I become such a brat and the only person who can deal with me is my mama. So, I came here yesterday and she's taken care of me ever since! Natalie came back here today (she practically lives here now) and we were talking about what I had left on my list. We decided to write her a card and also send her flowers. Luckily, my mom has no idea how to click on these links on Facebook (let alone use her computer or iPad without help from Nat or Andrew) so she won't see this before they show up at her work. Hope she enjoys them!  <3

#16: Put quarters in the toy vending machines at Toys R Us.

This one was quick and easy and would be even easier to do as you're leaving a store. I never have cash or change on me so I had to go get quarters from the bank in order to do this one. I just ran in and lined up all the little machines and left, the workers probably thought I was a weirdo for not even coming into the store but oh well--I hope some little kid is happy when they go see it! 

 

#3: Pay for the coffee of the person behind you at Starbucks.

I definitely thought this one would be an easy one to accomplish...but no, I had to attempt this twice. The first time I tried was yesterday after waking up at the crack of dawn to go to Our Daily Bread. Only problem was that there was no one behind me! I was going to pay for the lady in front of me, but she was returning a cup coffee she had bought on Wednesday and was demanding a refund/new coffee (strange, I know). They obliged so I just got my coffee and left.

This morning I didn't even want coffee (feeling kind of sick) but I know I need to do at least two a day from now on so I can finish this list, so I went. This time, I tried going through the drive thru since that line seemed kind of long. There was no one behind me for a while but finally a girl pulled up and I was able to pay for her breakfast and coffee when I got to the window. Next time you're at a Starbucks, try this one too. 

#19: Write a note to management about someone that treated you well.

I've been meaning to write a note to Greene Turtle management about one of their fantastic servers, Cate. Jeremy Martin and I are co-chairs of the Young AFCEAn Socials and every month they're held at the Greene Turtle in Columbia. We usually have between 30-45 people come and go during the socials but this month, we probably had 60. Cate was able to keep track of everyone and what drinks they ordered (it's a networking event so people are constantly walking around) and was great! 

As previously noted, it's a Varen tradition to set up shop at a bar and watch the March Madness games together. I had emailed/called Columbia Ale House earlier in the week to give them the heads up that we were all coming and to reserve space. However, they kept getting calls from all sorts of people so they said they weren't taking reservations--we could just try to come early and stake claim to whatever space is available. I was the chosen one to stake out space...by myself. I arrived at the bar at 11:15 to find out that the general manager managed to give us our own bar and little area for the day! He gave us the best bartender ever, Ben. Ben and I became best friends since my company left me hanging for an hour by myself and there was no one else at the bar yet. He was so efficient and friendly the entire day. I'm also a pretty picky eater (and this being a Friday during Lent didn't help because all I really wanted was meat) and I just wanted a Bud Light but this place is too fancy for that. Ben kept bringing me different beers to help me find something I liked. I spent eight hours there today (yup, you read that right--8 hours) and Ben was there to keep us company the whole time. HUGE thank you to Columbia Ale House for everything they did today!

If you happen to go to one of these establishments, request Cate as your server or Ben as your bartender!

Greene Turtle Columbia
8872 McGaw Rd  
Columbia, MD 21045

Columbia Ale House
6480 Dobbin Center Way  
Columbia, MD 21045

I love snail mail rather than hand delivering things (I just think it's so fun to get surprises delivered to you) so I just dropped them both in the mail!

#32: Let someone go ahead of you in line.

This one is super easy and something that you can do quickly any day! While Kelly and I were at Wegman's checking out, there was a lady who definitely seemed like she was a rush so I let her go in front of me instead. She kept thanking me for something so simple. Try it- next time you're out-easy peasy!

#18: Post a motivational quote on a public bathroom mirror.

I wrote out these cards with Cammy last week but every time I go out I forget I have them and don't post them anywhere. Tonight, Kelly Miller and I went out to catch up (after rescheduling a million times). Restaurants were swamped so we settled on grabbing sushi from Wegman's. Kelly's getting her First Communion and Confirmation next weekend at Easter and we started talking about Lent and then I remembered I had these! We posted them in the Wegman's bathrooms and then she took one with her to Pub Dog. Hope people enjoy them! Thanks Kel for helping me knock this one off my list. :)

#39: Buy $1 scratch off tickets and pass them out to people.

I'm currently reporting live from the Columbia Ale House. It's Varen tradition that we take off and watch games the Friday of the ACC Tournament and then the following week for the NCAA tournament. I stopped at a gas station on the way here to check this one off. I bought some scratch offs, put them in envelopes, and randomly gave them to workers here. Scratch offs have a special place in my heart because before my grandmom got Alzheimer's, she used to LOVE playing them.

Update: I gave one of the envelopes to the General Manager and his was a winning ticket. He liked the idea of random acts of kindness so he passed it off to one of his workers for all of his hard work lately! Glad the movement is continuing on. :)

#24: Hide dollar bills in the toy section at the Dollar Tree.

This one was super fun and quick and easy as well. I put stickers on a couple dollar bills and took to the Dollar Tree toy aisle. I taped them on the back things that reminded me of my favorite people: princess toys (Natalie), bubbles (Andrew), bingo (Lily), and dominoes (my granddad). Hopefully this brightens someone's day!

#23: Serve food at a soup kitchen.

I'm a little behind on these acts of kindness so I'm off today to try and tackle the list (and watch basketball of course). Our Daily Bread in Baltimore is a soup kitchen in Baltimore City that St. Louis donates chicken dinners to monthly. In addition to donating food, you can also volunteer to serve food, which is what I did this morning. It was super early (and I should not have stayed out/up so late last night) because you had to be there at 7am to setup and prepare before the doors open at 7:30. It was a pretty awesome experience. The people that come and the workers there are really grateful for the service. Our Daily Bread isn't just a soup kitchen either, it's also an employment center. You have to call in and get on the schedule to volunteer but it was definitely worth it--and they need a ton of volunteers. If you don't have the time to volunteer, they could definitely use the donations as well.

Our Daily Bread
725 The Fallsway
Baltimore, MD 21202
Volunteer Line: 443-986-9031
Breakfast shift: 0700-0830
Lunch shift: 0900-1300

#14: Tape popcorn to a redbox for someone’s movie night.

The guys at work told me this one was stupid but I think it was cool. I was on my way to rehearsal for Good Friday and Easter at St. Louis when I caught glimpse of the Redbox machine at the Walgreens and immediately bee-lined to it to cross this one off!

#12: Write to a teacher who has changed your life.

Sheila Carr-Spence was one of my favorite teachers in high school. She was my math teacher for a couple years but also our class adviser. We spent a lot of time together my senior year because I was also the Class President. She made my high school experience unforgettable. I may not have paid much attention in class, but I had a blast and made friendships that still exist today. Joe Arcidiacono and I played so many pranks on her and she still laughs about them today. I also almost gave her a heart attack in my graduation speech when I quoted her at the end. We've kept in touch since I graduated and I can't even begin to explain how much I've appreciated her support and guidance these past 11 years. I surprised her by writing a note and attaching it to a box of chocolates (she loves sweets) and dropped it off at school today. :)

#26: Buy carousel rides for the kids in line.

After the fountain, we headed upstairs to the carousel. We JUST missed a packed carousel so there was no one in line to buy tickets so we had to tweak this one a little. I forget how much an individual ticket is but you could get 8 for $10 and that's how much cash I had on me so we just did that. The ticket booth doesn't accept credit cards so a lot of parents walked up close and saw the big sign and started to walk away so Andrew went chasing after them to make sure their kids got to go (there were a lot of crying kids when the parents said no). It was so cute!

Note: this teacup thing made me SO dizzy afterward that I still have a headache (AB insisted that I come with him). Notice how not excited the little girl next to him is that he's going so fast. haha

#25: Place a pile of change by a fountain with a note about making a wish.

I had my nephew Andrew for part of the day today so we went to the mall to try and knock off some of these things. This child gets so excited over the littlest things, it's adorable. He wrote a note to people and we grabbed a handful of change from my change drawer in my car. I was worried at first because the big fountain in the middle of the Columbia Mall was under renovations when we got there but Andrew assured me there was another working fountain on the other side...he was right! It was a smaller fountain, but it still worked for the sake of checking this one off. We made a lot of wishes ourselves but then just hung out at the fountain for a while watching the fountain and eating pretzels (I told you, it's the little things that he loves). The cutest part was when other little kids came up to visit the fountain but their parents didn't have change so he would bring them over coins and tell them to make a wish.

ps. The carousel that we went to after is directly above this fountain so we peeked over to see if anyone had made a wish. A bunch of people down there taking coins and making wishes and also taking a picture of our card! :)

#27: Send a sunshine box for someone that is sick.

Again, I got this idea from Pinterest. I filled a bag with a couple things that would help when a person is sick: meds, tissues, soup, and gatorade. I started collecting things a couple weeks ago but it just so happened that people weren't sick around me (except for me of course). I felt kind of horrible for wishing people were sick so I could give it to someone. Jess Milcetich is my "wingwoman" and fireball sidekick at Maryland events. She got sick and so I knew I wanted her to be the recipient of this one because wingwomen are useless if they're sick. I was going to give it to her last night at the Terrapin Club Young Terps game watch in Bethesda since she lives right there, except she didn't come! Luckily, she came to the game watch today so I was able to surprise her. :)

#1: Blessing bags for the homeless.

I saw the idea for blessing bags on Pinterest (of course). The idea is that you take a gallon bag and fill it with things for homeless people: toiletries, food, water, etc. I had made these bags at the start of Lent except I didn't want to check this one off without actually giving it to a homeless person. So, I kept the bags in my car in case I saw someone while driving. Shockingly, there's not a whole lot of homeless people in Columbia so I haven't been able to give one to anyone but tonight, the Terrapin Club Young Terps game watch was in Bethesda and I found a homeless person asking for food and money on the corner of Connecticut. I have more in my car if anyone drives by homeless people often and can hand them out! 

In my blessing bags, I put in:

• Sobe waters
• toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste, etc.)
• candy
• peanut butter crackers (not shown because I added them after this was taken)

 but add whatever you want to your bags! 

#21: Pack a box of food for a food bank.

I was blessed to be a member of the CIVICUS living and learning program at Maryland. (Special thanks to Sara Eisenberg who recommended me to Sue Briggs, the director of CIVICUS, so I could get into the program when I transferred into Maryland.) CIVICUS students live in Somerset Hall together and take classes built around leadership and community service learning. I was able to work with so many different groups and had some pretty great experiences because of it. Sue Briggs is an amazing mentor to have. She's one of those people who knows everything and knows pretty much everyone on campus. She's how I got both of my jobs on campus (as the Event Manager at the Memorial Chapel and as a Tell A Terp Caller) and how I was able to be so successful as a student there. We've kept in touch since graduation and she helped me check off #21 on my Lent list. 

CIVICUS students do a whole bunch of drives during the school year: books for students, peanut butter and jelly making sessions, canned goods, blanket making ford Project Linus, etc. The currently do a food drive almost every month for Meals and Minds. Meals and Minds is a mobile food pantry in four area elementary schools in conjunction with Martha's Table. (http://www.dcunited.com/video/2012/12/17/marthas-table-meals-for-minds) This month, the food drive was pasta and Sue offered to add my donation to their collection to be donated to Meals for Minds. The pick up was this morning but luckily, Sue lives right down the street from me now so I was able to drop off pasta at her house last night for the pickup today since I wouldn't be able to make it to campus to drop off.  Thanks Sue!!

#4: Offer to return a shopping cart to the store for someone loading a car.

An and I went to Costco tonight to just look around. It was super cold and windy out and people were trying to be outside as little as possible. There was an older couple by us that had packed two carts full of stuff so I took one of the carts back inside for them so they wouldn't have to. (Someone else came up and took the other cart to use it.) This was an easy one to do, but that elderly couple seemed to really appreciate it!

#9: Surprise someone with flowers.

Jenna Rovegno is quite possibly one of the best people I know. She's gorgeous, smart, funny, successful, and one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. We're on the Young AFCEAn Executive Committee together and she works at SAIC and we do a lot of business with them so it's a double win. I've been so lucky that she's become one of my best friends in the industry and in my life. The past couple months have been crazy for me and she's been there every step of the way. When my dad was in the hospital last month for his triple bypass, Jenna took me out to lunch and surprised me with flowers for me and my dad. So, when I started coming up with this list and trying to plan out who to use for what, I knew I wanted her to be #9. I enlisted the help of Steve Miller to surprise her at their work today (which is also the day before her birthday). Naturally, she wasn't there when I came so I just left them on her desk and later I got a text and voicemail from a very happy girl. :) It was also fun because we got to celebrate her and An's birthday early tonight at the Young AFCEAn social after work! Love you Jenna, happy birthday!! xoxo

ps. Steve, thanks so much for all your help!!

#7: Donate treats to an animal shelter.

This one has been my favorite one to do by far, thanks Amanda for reccomending this location! In one of my many trips to Target, I picked up a couple boxes of dog treats (I almost gave them to Logan instead because they were so cute, but I bought him a bag of bacon strips instead.) to donate to the Howard County Animal Control and Animal Shelter. I wrote to them ahead of time and they said I could drop off donations at any time. They're open late one day a week and it was perfect because my cousin Cammy is in town visiting and wanted to go with me. 

After we dropped off the treats to the front counter, the worker said we could go back and see/play with the dogs so we did! It was kind of sad seeing them all locked up and I just wanted to free them all. Some of them even had stories about why they were there (the saddest was a cute dog who was dropped off by someone deploying overseas and couldn't find anyone to take him) on their charts. Cams and I picked out one little puppy named Easton to play with and I really wanted to take him home. He was so cute and playful and he loved me so I tried to convince her it was meant to be but she talked some sense into me. He does have 4 other siblings though so someone please go adopt them all! 

Howard County Animal Control and Animal Shelter
8576 Davis Road (Off 108 E)
Columbia, Maryland 21045
Adoption Hours:
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday | 10:00 am - 4:30pm
Tuesday Adoption Hours | 1:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Saturdays | 10 a.m - 2:00pm

Easton!!

#8: Be a designated driver.

My Saturday night was definitely not what I expected. To protect the identities of those involved, I'm not going to write about the whole adventure but in a 4 hour time period, I managed to travel from DC to Bethesda to Baltimore to Hagerstown. It was quite the adventure, but I'm glad both people are safe and sound now!

#28: Surprise someone with dessert.

Chris has been one of my best friends since I was little. We met at Hammond Elementary when we were 7 and have been friends ever since. He's always there for me despite both of us being insanely busy with work and never asks questions when I need an escape from real life and I go hide out at his place in Baltimore. His younger sister Kelsey and I played field hockey together while we were growing up too so it only makes sense that his parents are like my own. Bruce & Connie (or Papa & Mama Jones as I like to call them) are fantastic parents to two of the most caring people I know. As soon as I decided I was going to do #28, I knew that they'd be the recipients as a thank you for all of their love and support over the past 19 years. As an added bonus when I dropped off the Smith Island Cake, they took me out to dinner (sans Chris and Kelsey) and I got to catch up with them! I'm SO lucky to have them in my life. :)

Red Velvet Smith Island cake from Original Smith Island Cake Co.! It was delicious, but I still prefer the traditional chocolate and yellow cake version.

#35: Make a generosity kit and give it to someone that is stressed.

Allie is one of the best people I know. I may be kind of biased since she's one of my best friends, but she really is. We're so alike in many ways and she's one of those people who bring out the best in me. If I've ever dragged you to Chipotle or made something for you from Pinterest, blame Allie. She got me addicted to both of those. She's always there for me when I need her and even if I don't ask. In short, she's amazing and a great friend.

She's been super stressed lately so I figure what better way to include her in my Lent plans than to make her the recipient of #35!  I surprised her with this package at work. :)

Target is pretty dangerous if you don't have a set list. I walked in with the plan to pick up all the things I needed to finish my Lent list. As you can tell from the blog, I'm pretty behind at the moment.  Sooooo, the generosity kit:

• coloring book & crayons: because pretending like you're 5 again is the best way to relieve stress
• bubbles: see explanation above
• candy: because eating helps me de-stress (and Nerds are so colorful and make me happy)
• cards: to remind her of all the times we brought cards to the bar and made friends with strangers
• frosted animal crackers: because they're so cute and yummy!

(I was going to do a bottle of wine too but I wasn't sure if I could bring that to her office. Also wanted to give her a puppy but Benny is going to do that instead. ;))

Everything before I packaged it all up to deliver to her work!

Me and my best. I love you! xoxo

#37: Drop off donuts to an office.

Early on in this idea process, I knew I wanted to involve St. Louis somehow. It is seriously the best church I've ever belonged to. The people are super nice and the place is absolutely gorgeous. Paul Carroll, the Music Director, is hands down the best musician I know. He has become one of my closest friends over his 5 year tenure there and also helped me think of a lot of this list. As a thank you, this morning the parish staff members were the recipient of #37! 

I really really wanted to eat a donut on my way there but was able to stop myself. :)

 

#13: Bake someone cupcakes.

When I shared my Lent list with people, the majority immediately called dibs on being the recipient of this act of kindness. So, I couldn't sleep yesterday and ended up making 42 cupcakes...and then individually wrapped them so I could spread the wealth to more than just one person.

Today was a crazy day, it was a snow day for everyone (just without snow). I went to work  and gave some out to the people that were there (except the one guy who stole my parking spot yesterday haha). I also left cupcakes as surprises in some people's offices. Tonight was the last MD home game of the season so before the Terrapin Club Young Terps pre-game at Looney's, I stopped by Comcast to drop off a dozen for my favorite staff members and then took the rest to the party. Everyone seemed to love them! 

The cupcakes are funfetti with chocolate frosting or chocolate cake with vanilla frosting.

#40: Leave a gift for the server after a meal in addition to the tip.

Natalie, Cristina, and I went to dinner at one of our favorite spots--Coal Fire. They have delicious pizza and super nice servers. Natalie made a thank you note for our server Scott and then we attached it onto a box of girl scout cookies and left it with the tip. Hope he liked it! :)

Coal Fire 
5725 Richards Valley Rd  
Ellicott City, MD 21043 

Don't mind her hair--it's a little crazy because we went to the puppy store before and played with them for a while.

#29: Take parents a date night kit.

Cristina and Vaughn are two of the best parents I know. Vaughn works a ton so that Cristina can stay home with their son Maddox. They rarely ever get time to just relax and have fun, so I thought I could bring the fun home to them! Tin and I LOVE The Notebook so she'll be forcing Vaughn to watch it with her while he eats some treats too. :)

I thought it this after the fact, but wine would've been a nice touch to this kit!