I is for "I'm Currently Reading______________" AND "The Ivoryton Library Association"

 I is for "I'm Currently Reading _________________"

So by now you've realized that my kiddos and I are hopeless bookworms.  We will read ANYTHING, from cereal boxes, to tabloids, to pamphlets of religious propaganda, to the classics- we are truly equal opportunity readers!  That being said, it should come as no surprise that I am far from a reading snob.  I know some people are very guarded about what they will admit they read- they have some books they'd read at home, and then they have their "public books"- the ones that they feel project a certain image of themselves as  readers.  I also have other friends who will only read "challenging books", and they talk of them like they're mountains to be climbed: "I just read _____________ (insert name of a classic, preferably over 700 pages in length, and add extra points if it has been translated from a foreign language.  Even more bonus points if it was written by someone who is long dead, but when they were alive was wallowing in a deep depression and addicted to some illegal substance)   Man, it took forever, and it was hard, but I was up to the challenge!"  

 O.k., so I don't fit in with either of these groups.  I read things that appeal to me, and this appeal could be based on subject, a current interest, or even be as shallow as the fact that I happen to dig the cover ;-)!  I don't believe that the book I'm carrying should either define me, or be my cross to bear.  My book should enlighten me, delight me, guide me, or somehow make my life easier.  That being said, I thought I'd share some of the books the kids and I have had our noses in so far this summer.  Feel free to add those you recommend in my "comments" section- we always enjoy new material!

Jenn's been reading (with apologies to amazon for shamelessly grabbing their photos):

I LOVE a Parisian memoir!  I've read a whole bunch of them; these are just two I've read this summer.  My favorite of the two was definitely Paris in Love.  Eloisa James is a prolific romance novelist; however, after her mother's death, and then her own battle with cancer, she and her husband decided to take a year's sabbatical, and spend it in Paris with their two children.  The book chronicles the family's year and is written in short snippets that were gleaned from e-mails and journal entries that Eloisa wrote during their stay.  I loved it!

I should've known that Paris, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down was going to be a bit of a "gripe session" just from the title.  I am a hopeless optimist, and decided to give it a go despite my initial impression.  Bad idea.  The book was well written, but I hate to say it-  it "brought me down"!  After two of my own visits to the City of Light, I prefer to maintain my touristy-illusion of Paris.  This book is about the author's disillusionment during the course of a year of living and working in Paris.  Sometime, being a little delusional can be a good thing...so this one was not a favorite.

I can't believe I almost forgot to include this book!  I actually had to edit the post when I noticed it on my night table and realized that I had forgotten to put it on the list.  This is my most recent book purchase, and I LOVE it.  Now to look at me, one would never realize that I adore fashion.  I wear a variation on the same thing (if you can call the same thing in a different color a "variation") every single day.  My shoes are sensible and my clothes are unfailingly from the "cotton and comfortable" collection.  I rarely even buy anything with a numbered size- just a size "M" will do nicely, thanks!  So it is rather surprising (even to me!)  that I enjoy fashion, especially vintage fashion, as much as I do.

This book is another of my favorite illustrative styles, and it is also well-rooted in a great concept.  The author's godmother bequeathed her a collection of dresses that she'd amassed from a wide variety of acquaintances over the years.  This collection includes some iconic pieces, and represents a three dimensional timeline of fashion history!  But that's not what makes this book truly special.  What makes this one a "gotta have it" in my book is the fact that the author's godmother not only left her the dress collection- she also left her a diary with the stories behind the dresses.  We meet the dresses and also read about the person who wore them and for what occasion!  It is a real treasure.  I am currently on the hunt for the first installment of dresses presented by Charlotte Smith in her first book, Dreaming of Dior".  Can't wait to read it!

Always a sucker for a memoir (especially one that involves food ;-), I gravitated immediately to this book, which was recommended by the  Essex library.  Charlotte Silver's parents owned a restaurant in Harvard Square called Upstairs at the Pudding, and Charlotte spent many of her formative years at the restaurant.  This book is her memoir of life washed down with unlimited Shirley Temples!

Oh my goodness, I loved My Korean Deli! A young couple decides to purchase a Korean Deli for the family's matriarch as a way to "give the parents something back".  This memoir is an account of how the family went about getting their deli off the ground while keeping their feet firmly planted on it!  It is interesting, funny, and well written!

I dodged this book for weeks at Barnes and Noble (for some reason, I get stubborn whenever the store features a book.  It's pretty childish really, my "I'm going to read anything I want- you can't MAKE me read this book you have so artistically stacked everywhere I turn!).  Eventually though, I caved (a woman I follow on Twitter recommended it-said she was devouring it during a pedicure.  Why this weirdness  brought about my "tipping point", I have no idea).  This book isn't a memoir, and has nothing to do with France or food; however it does involve a few other things to which I can't help but be drawn- summer on Cape Cod, old preppy/WASP-ish families, a bit of drama surrounding a wedding, and a story that is told from several different perspectives.  This book was written by a young author (born in the 80's!!! Weren't the 80's just like, yesterday???) with tremendous talent.  In fact, the story is so well-told, that you might forget to slow down and savor the author's superior craft! 

This book is one I have waiting in the wings.  Sue (of the famous "Bob and Sue", from my previous post) recommended it.  If you read Sue's R.A.O.K. letter, then you'll understand why I went out and got this one based solely on her recommendation.  Yup, she's that awesome!

I picked this book up at the Terrain Garden Store and Cafe in Westport.  My friend and I had a fantastic afternoon browsing in the store (it's Anthropologie for your home and garden!) and then enjoying a delicious lunch in their cafe.    I never met a book I didn't like at Anthropologie, and their sister store Terrain was no different!  I grabbed Farm Anatomy to use with my class this fall during a unit on farming.   It is an amazing book, done in my favorite style of illustration- watercolor and ink, with lots of cool diagrams!  I can't wait to share this one with my class!

This one gets the award for my priciest purchase.  I plan on using it to help me work within the guidelines of the Common Core.  I love Barbara Mariconda, and I'm going to trust that this one will be well worth the investment.  I'll have to get back to you once I use it for a while!

This one isn't the Paulo Coelho version that would lend me the appearance of a well-heeled intellectual...nope, this one is the first book in the kids' series about "The Immortal Nicholas Flammel".  I bought it because I loved the cover ( literally "judging a book by it's cover") and because my school had a "buy one, get one free" book fair.  I keep starting this one, but not getting too far.  It seems like a fabulous series, and from what I hear, there's going to be a movie made, so I'm going to give this one another chance...

My daughter (almost 12) is currently reading:

She LOVED this series by the author of The Hunger Games.  She's read the entire series already this summer, and speaks very highly of it.  The high action adventure series takes place in the subways and features giant rats as "bad guys".  She stayed up until long past bedtime on many nights, unable to put down a single volume of the series!

This story of an illegal immigrant family was required summer reading from her school.  She enjoyed it; however she didn't talk about it much.  Probably because there are no mythical creatures, magic, or wizardry.  I haven't read it; however, I plan on it.  I crave memoirs the way my kiddo craves fantasy!

My daughter's currently on the hunt for this book.  She has a copy of the sequel (see below) from the Advance Reader's Club at RJ Julia and she doesn't want to read it until she has the opportunity to read this one.  Our search for it at a local library continues!

This is the book she is currently reviewing for RJ Julia.  She won't read it, though until she reads Mistress of the Storm. Here's hoping we find it soon.

The book she's reading until we find Mistress of the Storm. This one's about a girl who is searching for her missing older sister in a forest that is endangered by developers... hmmm....a bevy of issues!

I LOVE Stargirl!  What a great story with a terrific message! My daughter balked at this one for a long time (maybe b/c I was the one recommending it?), but she finally gave it a shot this summer and REALLY enjoyed it.  She's currently working on listening to the sequel, Love, Stargirl to unwind before bed each night.

My son (8) is reading:

O.k., first of all, my son is a nonfiction glutton.  He will read ANYTHING that can provide a fact for him to store in his limitless archive.  He reads or hears a fact once, and it is carved in some stone tablet and filed away for him to draw upon later to either win an argument with his sister or impress his grandparents.  This being said, he is also a nonfiction book "flitter".  He rarely reads nonfiction cover-to-cover.  Instead, he picks up a book, reads it for awhile, drops it on the floor, and reads another.  This makes me CRAZY.  Why?  Because when he goes back to school, we have to submit a list of the books he's read over the summer, and he's read an encyclopedia's worth of snippets, but very few books in the traditional manner- start to finish.  So, I try and remind myself that what is truly important- he's a capable and voracious reader!  Just don't ask me to give you specific titles ;-).  Seriously, though, when he's not reading non-fiction morsels, he has been reading two books he really likes (and a third we're using as a family read-aloud):

He received this book as a gift for his 8th birthday from my brother and his family.  It is the 3rd in a series, and it is chock full of the irreverent humor and action that boys love.  As I was grabbing this picture from amazon, I noticed that there is a 4th book being released in September.  He's going to be delighted!

This one is of a similar "action-packed and irreverent" genre!  He has the sequel to this one waiting int he wings!

This book was SUPPOSED to be released in June- we even had a countdown to its publication! Alas, it wasn't published when it was supposed to be; the author told us that the series is being re-released in the hopes that a new look will help it to sell a bit better.  Well, we're HUGE fans of its current incarnation, and didn't think we could wait for a huge makeover (we read it aloud as a family).  The author is a terrific guy, and sent us an advance reader's copy to hold us over- we couldn't be more grateful, or recommend his series more highly.  To my son, it is the ultimate trifecta: irreverent humor, tons of action, LOTS of nonfiction elements!

So, these are some of the pages being turned at our house...whatcha reading at yours?


Now, more library reviews from my daughter....

 "I is for the Ivoryton Library Association"

How cute!!!

Hi Guys! Sorry  I haven't written in a while. We were so busy with camps the last two weeks that we had no opportunities to visit libraries. We were going to go to Hartford for H; however we were in the Essex area and decided to skip H for now, and and go right to Ivoryton for letter I!

This library was so small and cute!!! It is probably the smallest one we've been to so far being that Ivoryton is really just a "village" of the Essex, Ivoryton, and Centerbrook area. This library is very special since it is still housed in the same building as it was in 1888 and no addition has been made. The library is not provided with money from the town so it relies on donations, book sales and volunteers. 

This library is in the same building as the Ivoryton library in 1888!!

The Ivoryton library had a children's section located in the basement of the building. You have to walk down very steep steps being that it is a very old building. The children's librarian was very nice and carried her (2?) year old boy on her back in a baby backpack- the baby was looking at a book while he rode in the backpack! Ivoryton has a couple of Eagle Scouts that did projects with the library. One amassed a HUGE collection of  children's books to donate, and another created a brick walkway next to the library. 

The cute book drop is right outside the front door. It matches the rest of the house!!

Upstairs the library had a few shelves of the adult section reserved for teens or "Young Adult". They had some good book choices and the librarian told us it was mostly for ages 12+.

The small young adult section - probably the smallest we've seen- but at least they've got the teens in mind!

If you didn't know, Ivoryton was famous for it's ivory importing. All around this library are trinkit's made of ivory and tusks of elephants. Here's some information from the library's website:

The Ivoryton Library, built in l889, is one of the few libraries in the state housed in its original structure that has continued to function as a library for over l00 years. The library has great significance for the village of Ivoryton because much of the present landscape and environment in the community is due to the unique ivory-cutting industry that flourished here during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The library, perfectly placed in the center of this once factory village, was built in part with funds from the ivory factory, Comstock, Cheney & Co. It is difficult to imagine that Ivoryton was at one time the center of the ivory cutting trade in the United States. A photographic exhibit of the Comstock Cheney ivory trade resides in the library as part of a permanent collection. Currently there are 7,850 books on the shelves of the library, including archives on the library history, the ivory trade, and local history.

We enjoyed this library very much and we can't wait to go to "J"!! Its still undecided!!

The tusks by the door.

A historical display of ivory objects and the town's history.

R.A.O.K. without the "R" is still "A.O.K."!!

R.A.O.K. Without the "R" is still "A.O.K."!

I received the following letter from a friend and colleague whom I admire tremendously.  She took my birthday request for random acts of kindness so seriously that she ended up distilling the idea right down to its essence- an act of kindness, even if it isn't "random", is still an "act of kindness". :-)  

I am so grateful that she's given me the "go ahead" to share her letter with you- I hope you enjoy it as much as I did- I am lucky to have such versatile friends- they morph into role models like superheroes, just when you need 'em :-)!  Here's the letter:

Mainely Random

Dear Jenn,

Happy Birthday!  This weekend Bob and I vacationed alone (first time in 25 years) in Camden, Maine.  We spent five wonderful days sightseeing, hiking and enjoying the beautiful Maine coastline.  The fact that your birthday request for (RAOK) coincided with our vacation was both comical and beneficial.  For some strange reason Bob and I became very silly about all the potentially missed opportunities or failed attempts at RAOK and realized we’re novices at this.  Maybe it was because like everything else I over analyzed it and turned it into a challenge to design the most random and kindest act possible.  Or possibly it’s just the fact that we are both oblivious to what’s going on around us half the time.  Either way, it took on a life of its own and I joked about how another woman had come between us. (a.k.a. Jenn ).

Day 1 – Driving to Camden, Maine

                  Bob – “How about paying for tolls?”

                  Sue – “On the Mass Turnpike each person’s toll amount is different, the other tolls….too simple…keep driving.”

Day 2  -  Hiking at Camden State Forest

We pull into the parking lot and a young couple asks for change for $20.00.  Without question Bob searches his wallet, asks me for any singles and we exchange currency with the couple.  Before pulling out of the lot the couple informed us that there was a voluntary entrance fee of $3.00.  As they continue to leave it dawns on us that we could pay for them.  I stopped the car.

                  Sue – “We’d like to pay for you.”

                  Young woman – “That’s O.K., we already paid and were just looking for change because we used up all our singles.”

                  Sue – “Oh.”

At this point because she was looking at me rather oddly, I felt compelled to explain about the RAOK birthday request.  Young woman smiles, and quickly drives away.  Bob and I laugh about how it may not be as easy as it sounds.

When we reach the peak of Bald Mount a middle aged couple asked us to take a picture of them. Random on their behalf, Kind on ours – DOESN’T COUNT.

Day 3 – Full day trip to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park

The drive is about an hour and a half from the Inn.  Thirty minutes into the drive we come to a kindness crossroads.

                  Bob – “I thought of another random act we could have done. There was a woman pushing a cart filled with bottles alongside the road.  We should have pulled over and given her $20.00 to use in addition to the bottle returns.”

                  Sue – “That’s a great idea. Where is she?”

                  Bob – “It was a while ago and she was walking on the opposite side of the road.”

                  Sue – “Huh? Maybe Jenn would have turned around…….never mind…keep driving.”

Acadia National Park Visitor Center – I enter the ladies restroom and proceed to take an unoccupied stall.  A young woman stops me to say there is not toilet paper in it.  The next stall opens and becomes available, she looks at me and I encourage her to go ahead of me (kind of counts). She enters the stall only to pop out instantly with a large handful of toilet paper for me to use in the other unoccupied stall.

“Yikes!  That’s a wash! (or should I say flush) I’ve got to step it up!”

Upon rejoining Bob outside I share with him my encounter.  We have a good chuckle and decide to get serious.

Our hike up Cadillac Mountain was spectacular.  There were multiple opportunities for us to graciously stand aside and let groups of hikers return down the path giving them the right of way.  Which Bob and I did enthusiastically and although polite I feel this didn’t count at all.

After a long tiring day we decided to postpone dining in the Bar Harbor area.  This resulted in a number of choice places closing before we finally arrived in the Camden area.  Finally by 9 P.M. we settled on a casual somewhat rowdy establishment that served late night meals.  Neither of us was actively looking for a RAOK when I overheard two women at a neighboring table mention they needed to move seats.  Apparently they were searching for a new hotel on their IPAD and it required charging.  As one woman glanced in our direction she said to her friend, I see an outlet over there.   Immediately I sprang into action. 

Sue -“We’d be happy to switch tables with you.” 

Lady - “Oh, no dear, that’s awfully nice but we’ll just move to the corner.  Our hotel plans fell through and we need to search for a place to stay.”

Now I know what you’re thinking because it crossed my mind just once and briefly at that. I’m just not ready for that level of commitment.  Perfectly random as it might be.

Day 4 -  Toured Rockland, Owls Head and Port Clyde -  SUCCESS AT LAST !

The first lighthouse (our favorite) was in Rockland. It was a one mile walk over the granite breakwater to the lighthouse.  There were beautiful views, a resident seagull named George and free admittance.  At the second lighthouse in Owl’s Head a young couple with a small child was preparing for a photo shoot.

                  Sue – “Would you like me to take a picture of all of you?”

                  Young dad – “No, we’re all set.”

                  Bob – “Maybe we give off a stalkerish vibe.”

Before touring the third lighthouse at Port Clyde we stopped for an ice cream break.  Upon completion of our order another couple about our age enters the village shop.  As the young girl proceeds to give me change for my twenty I lean over and ask her to use the rest to pay for the couples order.   CHA CHING!!!!!!    They were very surprised.  The man looked dumbfounded until we gave him a brief explanation.  He and his wife thanked us, wished us a great day and commented that they would be sure to pay it forward.

Day 5  - Trip home – stop off in Freeport for shopping break

We enjoyed a few hours of aimless shopping easily acquiring a little something for our grown kids at home dog sitting.  Now on a RAOK high, I bought a $5.00 gift card at Dunkin Donuts in Brunswick, Maine but was too chicken to give it to the elderly couple that pulled in after us so I made Bob do it.  While shopping in Freeport, the feeling continued. Maybe it was because at this point we were so relaxed or possibly it is just contagious. But I felt compelled to hold doors, smile a lot and thank numerous salespeople for their help.  Around 2:30 I turned to Bob and said, “I’ve had enough. My kindness quotient is really dwindling. Are you ready to go home?”

We arrived home around 6:30 P.M.  The drive went smoothly and Bob paid for cars behind us along the Maine Turnpike. 

In conclusion, Bob and I decided we are definitely random and mostly kind but rarely randomly kind.  All in all our vacation together was wonderful.  Your birthday request was an interesting addition providing us many opportunities to giggle about failed attempts and potential random acts but more importantly we tried to focus on being kind whether random or not.  At one point during the five days Bob commented on how he was beginning to notice and edge to my voice.  “I know, I said.  I think all this kindness is making me crabby.  It’s taking a lot of extra energy to squelch some of my typical negative barbs.   Give me some more time.”

Hopefully by now you have understood that our vacation journal was meant to amuse you and also let you know that we thoroughly enjoyed completing your birthday request.  I dare say we even got a little something out of it ourselves.

Next year…………..YOU’RE GETTING A GIFT CARD TO BARNES AND NOBLE  (JK)

Love,

Bob and Sue

H is for "How I Had the Happiest of Birthdays (aka: 43 Random Acts of Kindness)!"

H is for "How I Had the Happiest of Birthdays 

(aka: 43 Random Acts of Kindness)!"

A RAOK from my brother and his family on the scoreboard at Fenway Park- it made my day, and brought a donation to the Red Sox Foundation!

A banner my parents made to greet me when I arrived at their house- one of their many RAOK!

A couple of "posts ago", I mentioned that I had been inspired by fellow blogger Robyn Bowmar, who for her 38th birthday, decided she'd like to attempt to perform 38 Random Acts of Kindness.  She was so inspired by how great it felt to do so much for others, that she created The Birthday Project, which encourages and celebrates others who also would like to perform RAOK for their birthdays.

I decided that THIS was how I most wanted to spend my 43rd birthday on July 22nd, and so I set out last week to plan my "not so random" acts!  In fact, my previous post details some of the preparations we enjoyed!

Since my husband and I had plans to spend my birthday rooting for the Red Sox (turns out our cheering wasn't nearly enough- they lost by a landslide), the family decided to make a weekend out of our RAOK, so here's what we did! :

1. We donated tooth brushes and beautiful, plush washcloths to our local homeless shelter.

2. We also donated 5 gift cards to Dunkin' Donuts, so shelter clients would have a good way to escape the heat.

3. We donated 7 bags of clothing and baby toys to Goodwill

4. We donated 4 bags of books to our local library's "Friends" program

5. We fed "soon to expire" parking meters in New Haven (where they even enforce meters on Saturday!)

6. We brought dessert to some construction workers having lunch.
7. While buying dessert, we paid for the coffee of the person behind us in line, and we left before he knew it was us :-)!

8. We brought 5 gift-wrapped gift cards to our favorite bookstore, and left them with the employees to distribute to any customers they chose.  We attached a note that said:

"Guess what????  It’s my 43^rd birthday, and I’ve chosen to celebrate by performing 43 random acts of kindness (R.A.O.K. J) over my birthday weekend!  Please accept this $5.00 gift card in honor of my birthday, enjoy it, and “pay it forward” by performing your own R.A.O.K. this weekend! :-)"

9.  We went to another bookstore, and quietly tucked 24 sheets of stickers into books for young children.  Can you  read the message we attached?

 10.  We left a few of these notes (and lots of quarters) at a laundromat.  

11.  We brought a ton of bottles to be recycled, and earned the quarters above!

 12.  I renewed my registration as a bone marrow donor at the National Bone Marrow Registry.

13.  We brought children's magazines to our hair salon; the kids were grateful to have something others than People or Us Weekly to read ;-).

14. My husband weeded my parents' front yard.

15.  We returned rogue shopping carts to their rightful spots.

16. Picked up a swimsuit coverup for my mom we knew she'd been thinking about purchasing.

17. We stopped and helped a woman pick up the contents of her bag that she'd spilled all over the sidewalk.

18.  We put furniture we no longer need on the curb for someone who might be able to use it.  It was picked up in minutes!

19. While out shopping for supplies, we met a homeless man who asked for any assistance we could provide.  We brought him lunch.

20.  We created a "Not to be Missed" list of things to see and do on vacation for friends who are going to visit one of our favorite vacation spots.

21.  We left dog biscuits in a friend's mailbox who recently adopted a dog.

22.  We passed on some clothes to a friend's daughter.

23.  We helped set up and clean up for a concert in which our daughter was playing.

24.  We helped serve pizza at the camp pizza party, and donated LOTS o'bagels for snack.

25.  We gift wrapped a $10 gift card for Friendly's (with a note explaining RAOK), and left it with a waiter who gave it to a family after we left.

26.  We gift wrapped a $10 gift card to Panera (with a note explaining RAOK) and placed it on the counter as a family was paying and said, "This is for you!" and left...on our way out, employees had a lemonade stand to benefit Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital, so...

27.  We bought 3 lemonades to benefit the hospital programming!

We put some correspondence together!   Included in the photo above are:

28.  A book to mail a friend who mentioned she enjoys reading about India- it's one from our collection called "Holy Cow"!

29.  A gift for some friends who just adopted a beautiful boy!

30. A fun package for our little cousins made up of a couple of costumes, some books, and some DVD's we've outgrown.

31.. A donation to the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation 

32.  A card for some friends who just had a baby.

33.  An anonymous card for a neighbor we don't know, but who every year hangs the most beautiful holiday lights- we want them to know how much we enjoy them!

So, at the Red Sox game, we did the following:


34.  On the way, we stopped for coffee, and left $ with the cashier to cover coffee for the next customer who came in.
35.  We paid for our own parking, and then prepaid for the next car.

I handed out birthday "Goodie Bags":

36.  I handed out 20 of the gift bags above to fellow Sox fans before the game started:

37.  We bought $5.00 in 50/50 raffle tickets to support the Red Sox Foundation .
38.  We gave directions to a family unsure of which stop to choose on the "T"
39.  We helped a young family get their HUGE double stroller on to the "T" before the doors closed.
40.  We gave up our seats on the "T" to a new mom and an elderly woman.
41. I took photos of a couple outside of Fenway, so they'd have a picture with the two of them in it.
42.  We passed on our "Charlie Card" which still had $7.00 on it to a young man who was just headed towards the train, as we headed home from Boston.
43. We (hopefully) inspired others to try celebrating birthdays this way- it's AMAZING!

My entire family got into the spirit (once they got past the "oh lord, another hare-brained idea" phase ;-)!  While performing these RAOK's, and preparing for them, I learned a few things:

-"Random" doesn't necessarily have to mean "not on purpose"- just "an act of kindess" qualifies!
-Some people feel that telling others about RAOK's you perform somehow negates them; that talking about it means you're looking for congratulations.  Can't say I agree- if Robyn Bomar hadn't shared about how she spent her 38th birthday, I might have ended up spending my weekend in a totally different way- one that was focused inward instead of outward.  Robyn was not looking for praise- she was inspired, and she shared her inspiration!  Look at all the great things that have happened as a result of her sharing!

This was truly my best birthday ever (and that's saying something- I spent my 40th birthday at Canyon Ranch, and I left totally relaxed, but this weekend?  I ended it full of JOY!)  I loved every minute! 

Many of my amazing family and friends have shared stories of RAOK they performed either in honor of my birthday, or just because they're wonderful people!  Here are a few (which I promise to update whenever I receive more :-):

My mom and dad: Filled their gas tank and had my husband and I take their car to Boston, which used less gas than our van AND had EZ Pass!  They also took care of our kids for the day, and while we were away, my parents and kids washed, waxed, and vacuumed our van (which hasn't been waxed since we bought it....almost 9 years ago ;-)!

My brother, sister-in-law, niece, and nephew: made a donation in my honor to the Red Sox Foundation, and had a Happy Birthday greeting displayed on the score board at Fenway Park (pictured at the beginning of the post)!

My mother-in-law: Received a gift from my quilting buddies after Gramps passed away. Gave the unused portion back to a quilter who isn't as fortunate as the rest of us. My mother-in-law also helped fund some of our RAOK as part of her birthday gift to me :-)!

Charlene:  I donated blood on Thursday at Baystate's blood donor center.  I try to do this on a fairly regular basis but don't always remember to be so timely.  I also paid for the coffee of the person behind me in the drive-through line at Starbuck's.  There is something cool about doing that where the person doesn't know who you are and cannot thank you.  I asked the cashier to only tell the
person to pay it forward someday.

Darlene, Brooke, and Kevin: I gave a family a free family pass I had to the Beardsley Zoo when I overheard they were going there. Brooke found toys that are "too young" and gave them to me to give to one of my teacher's daughters who is 4. Kevin saw a lady in the parking lot of Home Depot with a lot of stuff and loaded her truck for her.

Alicia: So just now I went to the grocery store and realized that this was my last opportunity to squeak in the kindness for your birthday!!  So I planned to buy a gift card for the person behind me.  I was excited the whole time I was shopping just thinking about doing the nice thing!  And then while I was ringing up and the lady came behind me I got so excited I was shaking a little!  Then I bought the card and handed it to her and said, Happy Birthday.  She was very confused so I explained that it was my friend, Jen's birthday, and you had asked for RAOKs so this was my gift to you.  She tried to protest, saying "you don't have to do this", and finally accepted saying that she would be happy to "pass it on"!  Yay!  Success! Thank you, Jen, for the opportunity to get so excited and do something nice for a stranger.  Happy Birthday!!

Michele: So the O'C family has been gearing up this week for RAOK and these are the things we have done so far:
-left a happy note and an icy cold bottle of Poland Spring water in our mailbox for our mail carrier on Wednesday
-made brownies for the staff of Eli Whitney for the end of camp week
-made brownies for 2 of our neighbor family friends
-gave a $30 coupon to Old Navy to neighbors that have 3 kids and are way more organized vis a vis school shopping
-bought a backpack and stuffed it with school supplies for a 6 y.o. boy through our church's outreach team. Also found a matching lunchbox and one of those water bottles that filters water as you drink it in a matching color, so those went in the backpack, too
Have a great birthday weekend!

Angela:I just did some RAOK in Disney...we got fast passes and gave them away to another family...that way they could ride the rides that we knew we wern't going to go on BC we were leaving the park....we looked all over the place to find just the right family with the right number of kids...they were so excited to be able to go to splash mt...we also gave some passes away for a show...and Scott helped a family by holding their stroller on the bus so they can hold their children....we just got back...had a great time..

Anneke:I spent time yesterday and today going to through stuff and brought them to donation.  :)

Donna A.: I asked the waitress to bring a dessert to a man dining alone at Chili's, and add it to my check.I also gave up my front row parking spot at Target to a woman with some little kids, which is a HUGE deal- that parking lot is crazy!

Donna M.:  tons of things for family each day!

Amy and Madeline: Hosting a knitting group in their home.

Stacey: Helped  her friend do her entire resume- from providing the paper, typing it and posting it!

Jackie and Andy: Jackie purchased (and delivered) a case of flavored water for a visually impaired colleague who enjoys having it at the office.  Jackie's son, Andy, spent a long time entertaining and playing with some friends' younger children, one of whom has special needs.

Henry (my 96 year old next door neighbor who would think my whole project was "hooey", but who is also as unfailing kind as he is crotchety): thought of us while he was doing his grocery shopping and brought us a rotisserie chicken because, "you can't beat the deal for the meat on this buzzard" :-)! 

Mimi: My RAOK--in your honor---was buying a meal for the homeless woman that is often found on the bench at Stop & Shop. She was surprised and so happy.