Random acts of kindness. Have you ever performed one? Have you ever been the beneficiary of one? Earlier this month I was thrilled to be a part of an afternoon full of random acts of kindness, sponsored by Chevy in conjunction with an organization called ePIFanyNow.org. (The “PIF” stands for “Pass It Forward”.) It was a great opportunity, and a memorable day for many reasons. When I received the invitation, I was asked to put together a team. Each team would be driving a Chevy Volt around town, on their way to putting smiles on strangers’ faces. My team? Rita from Look, It’s Megryansmom!, Amy from ParentSphere, and Dawn from…
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Bringin’ My Book To #BlogHer11 (If You Want Me To)
So, I wrote this book, you know? I have already had two people ask me to bring them a signed copy to the BlogHer conference in San Diego next week so they can buy it, and I am obviously MORE than happy to do so. I have room in my suitcase for more, if necessary. SO. If you are attending the BlogHer conference and think you’d LOVE a copy of my book for use in planning your next trip to Chicago (the book makes a great gift, too!), email me at melisawells (at) gmail (dot) com and let me know. The book is priced at $14.95 but anyone who reserves…
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Thorns and Roses
Things that really annoyed me today, in no particular order: 1. Shorting myself on the amount of time I had to get ready for work, because I stayed up late last night and wanted to sleep a few extra minutes. 2. Someone who asked me how my weekend was, and then interrupted me just as I got started, to tell me about their weekend. 3. Hypochondria (not mine: I don’t suffer from it) 4. Roxie, getting stung by a bee at the farthest point possible from my house on our walk route. 5. Making my still-too-long to-do list. 6. People who complain constantly about certain things that are within their…
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Forced Slow Down
Unless this is your first day reading Suburban Scrawl (*waving to newbies* “Hi, and welcome!”), you know that I tend to keep myself fairly busy (and apparently enjoy understatements). It’s something I’ve grown accustomed to over time. I get up in the morning and go from zero to eighty in about ten seconds. And thinking? Yikes. I think all the time. My brain keeps me awake at night quite often, even though I have a pad of paper near my bed so I can jot things down and “get them out of my head”. It’s abnormal for sure, but it’s in my personality to be like this, so it’s my…
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Not So Sweet.
One of the most popular candy categories in this house is Easter candy. (It’s not just for Christians, you know!) Right around February 15, when the Easter candy typically appears in stores–that’s about two weeks before the Christmas ornaments appear, right?–the four of us tend to get a little giddy. We love Cadbury eggs (creme for me and J, caramel for Jim and D, usually), Reeses peanut butter eggs, and Cadbury mini eggs, and we usually have at least one of those varieties in the house at any given time, through Easter. I have even been known to buy a few extra bags and hide them deep in the back…