How nice!

I had a lovely surprise today - I was nominated for a bloggy-type award! Lori at A Day in the Life of Connor nominated me for the "Nice Matters" award.

This is such an honor, especially coming from Lori, who is my sister and whose joy and enthusiasm for life and motherhood come through in every word she writes and everything she does! Thank you Lori!

The official description of the award is as follows:

"This award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who invoke good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. Once you’ve been awarded please pass it on to 4 others who you feel are deserving of this award."

I will happily pass this award on to four other bloggers whom I enjoy reading regularly, and who inspire me in different ways:

1. I'm going to re-award my sister Lori at A Day in the Life of Connor. I'm not sure if that's 'allowed' but I'm going to do it anyway because when I read Lori's blog it always lifts my spirits! Lori has a way of writing that is so heartfelt and genuine that you feel you are right there with her and her family as they do parenthood for the first time. There is such joy and gratitude in what she writes and how she writes it that the 'nice quotient' of the internet goes up with each of her posts. I raise my cup of tea to you Lori!
2. Becca at Drops of Water writes a Taoist blog that is calm, serene and thought-provoking. I have had the privilege of conversing with her from time to time over at The Tea House Taoist discussion forum, and she has been kind, patient and non-judgmental even when I have been less so. In her blog she applies the Tao Te Ching to her daily life and thoughts in a way that is both humble and inspirational.
   
3. Nobody doesn't like some Crunchy Chicken! Crunchy's site is an engaging and endearing place to learn about ways to be kinder to the earth. Crunchy is always up for an eco-challenge and never asks anyone to do something she isn't doing herself. She has polls and raffles and and kindly cajoles her readers into doing good things for the environment and ultimately, for themselves too! And she isn't afraid to talk boldly about things like the Diva Cup!
   
4. Simple Living: Simplify and Reduce. Emme is one of the founders of the 90% Carbon Emissions Reduction project, otherwise known as the Riot for Austerity. Recently Emme had an article published about her in her local paper and on the internet version of the paper she received some unkind, dismissive comments about her and her family's efforts to reduce their carbon footprint. She responded to these criticisms with grace and aplomb despite feeling alienated, and continued to encourage others in their reduction efforts whether they were just starting down that road or had been living lightly for decades. If this isn't the definition of "nice," I don't know what is.
   

Nice does matter! One at a time and all together, we can make the world a nicer place!