1000 Awesome Things is one of the most uplifting blogs on the internet. I have been friends with Neil, the author of the site, for almost 2 years now, supporting each other in both of our endeavors—sending hundreds of emails to one other. April 15th marked the release date of his book and I couldn’t be any more happy for him. What he has accomplished in these 2 short years is quite unbelievable! If you would like to win a signed copy of The Book of Awesome all you have to do is leave a comment below telling me one thing you think is awesome! I will choose one comment at random, and they will be sent a copy of the book. Giveaway ends Wednesday at 8pm EST. *Edit: Winner is #35 — Theresa. Congratulations!
The illustrations below are by David Thompson. He decided to actually illustrate some of his favourite awesome things from the site!
Leave your awesome thing in the comments!
PICDIT 
look at your man now back at me
now back at your man now back at me
now back at your man now back at me
IM ON A HORSE
being inspired by the little things in life that sometimes get overlooked—a beautiful sunset, the smell of nature, or even a well designed typeface that is used correctly. (:
When my autistic son said ‘I love you Mummy’ for the first time!
When you win an Awesome book giveaway!
I would absolutely love to be entered into this contest. Awesome!!
misusedinnocence@aol.com
It is awesome to do something and be really proud of it.
Holding a baby that fits in one of you hands and knowing it wants to fight to live.
When someone you love is really sick and you think they are going to die, but suddenly they get well, that is awesome.
I would LOOOOOVE to read this book! One thing that I think is awesome is getting off work early when the sun is shining bright 🙂
Watching teachers do what they love and knowing you picked the right profession!
Driving along the highway in the spring and seeing cute little calves hopping, chasing each other, and playing in the fields. Spring time is AWESOME!
Finding a change on the ground when you really wanted a soda from the vending machine. Awesooooome!
When you win a very important football bet, without having any idea… and when people congratulates you all day after, awesome!
Random weekend posts from your favourite 9-5, mon-fri, bloggers! Awesome.
finding a secret hideout in the forest is awesome and so is winning contests on the internet! book rule as well!
Biking along and finding a Kimball Organ lying on the side of the road.
Blog comments. (Ohhhh, someone IS reading afterall!!)
When your chihuahua rescue dog jumps up on the bed to run towards your head, give you a big kiss, then crawls under the blanket and follows the side of your body until he finds your feet and sleeps on them to keep you warm:)
Bonus perk: Waking up to a cute little chi running at you for morning cuddles<3
when you find out you and a long-time friend share a common interest that you didn’t know before.
on your birthday, your greetings arrive by phone calls or cards in the mail. NOT by text message, email, Facebook or Twitter.
Wearing your favorite, comfiest, perfectly broken-in sweater/pair of jeans/lucky underwear, etc. Whatever article of clothing it may be, you put it on and you know it’s going to be a good day!
I have another one but it’s kind of gross. When you finally get a chance to pick that booger that’s been driving you nuts but haven’t been able to pick because you’ve been in a business meeting or at a wedding or wherever. You know what I’m talking about, the kind that inhibits your breathing and hurts if someone pinches your nose. But as soon as you get two minutes to yourself, you dig that sucker out of there and take a nice deep breath through your nose. Freedom!
The feeling of accomplishment from crossing off the last “to do” item on your list with a fat red pen. AWESOME!
Remembering an old friend who is no longer here. Been a favorite of mine. 🙂
When people play with your hair!
When a baby is being carried by someone else and as soon as they see you, they reach for you with their little arms. there’s something about knowing that you’re loved by someone so small that is AWESOME.
When you are filling a cup up with soda and the fizz shoot straight to the brim, you think its going to over flow and go everywhere, but it slowly goes back down AWESOME.
Planning a surprise party for a friend and pulling it off. awesome!
When my kids—who think they’re too old—snuggle up to me when we’re watching TV.
Awesome thing: Reading a note your past self wrote to your future self.
Why it’s awesome: When you’re young, you have the highest hopes for your future. The other day, I read a letter that my 5th grade self wrote to my current self. Within the letter, I dreamt that I’d be playing football at the University of Miami (in reality, I’m attending a community college and not playing any sports), while studying forensics in the meantime; that I’d one day be a forensic scientist at the New York crime lab, where I would meet my wife, Tiffany; and that we’d raise two beautiful children, Samantha Elizabeth and Tyler, Jr. Although I’m only 19 and in my first year of college, it doesn’t look like I’m going to fulfill my childhood’s destiny. But it’s pretty awesome that I had such an imagination and high hopes for myself when I was a child.
Maybe realizing you’ve yet to fulfill your once grand dreams isn’t awesome, but realizing you once knew how to dream big — and that there’s still time to do so — certainly is.
Eating something sloppy in the car on the way to or from work and never getting anything on you thanks to your seat belt! : )
Awesome!
SWAG! I hate it when i go to bed and forget to turn my swag off.
When you order french fries and you find an onion ring that was accidentally dropped in your order.
Wearing a t-shirt of an obscure band you love and getting compliments on it from random strangers.
When you’re in line or at a shop and you see a small child, smile at him/her, and he/she smiles back! AWESOME!
When you and your friends look up and the same time in class and laugh, both thinking of the same thing.
Checking behind the shower curtain before you go to the bathroom
Turning in a big project! I love knowing that I’m done with it, whether I did well or not. |:
Looking at an unfurled flower just before spring — shy, petals inwards, but the promise and hope of a wonderful blossom very shortly!
When a little one decides to pick a flower and give it to you.
When you’re out surfing all day and the best wave of the day is the one you decide is going to be your last (before you catch it).
Nothing feels better!
Waking up and feeling the warm bodies of your cats pressed up against you as they sleep; few things make me feel more loved.
I scanned and posted a few dozen photos from my kids’ childhoods on Facebook so my dad could see them. Mine is a military family and I live on a different continent than my dad. I only see him when I go home – and I don’t take all those photo albums with me. My dad loved them, but the best feeling came from the way my kids and their friends responded to the photos. Just about every photo got dozens of comments as the kids and their friends remembered birthday parties, BBQs, the fashions, their hairstyles, and all that. It was so sweet, funny and wonderful that it was worth the extra effort to put a total of 200 photos online – and the comments started all over again!
receiving TWO different fortunes in your fortune cookie
The moment after a big interview or speech when the stress melts away. AWESOME!
You have finished paying bills and your desk is clean.
That moment when someone joins in with you humming a tune
It’s awesome that my library is ordering this book!
I have 2
1) Bouncy Balls (link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bb8P7dfjVw)
2) When your cookie’s fortune hits home (image: http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/2939337/2/istockphoto_2939337-treasure-chest.jpg)
One of my favorite things is usually when there’s an instrument about, and someone is playing. (alright, it’s me) And I can hit one note to a song, and everyone nearby will start singing at the same time. Or maybe I hit a couple notes, just playing around, and someone says, ‘hey, that sounds like…’ And we all go off on a rampage of guitar strings and piano keys to figure out the rest of the tune, so we can all sing along.
Coming back after a long break from school and remembering your combination (and opening your locker on the first try)!
Awesome thing: when someone holds the door for you when you have two suitcases, a backpack and a carry-on.
A hidden slice of pepperoni on a slice of pizza! Mmm, tasty surprises.
When I find money, which I may have forgot about, in the pocket of one of my jeans. AWESOME!
Dancing in the rain with the little kids who live in your neighborhood. The same ones you bought lemonade from on that really hot day last week. 🙂
I think one of the most awesome things in the world is the feeling you have after leaving the beach— sun kissed (or burnt, in my case) skin, salty coating on everything, and pure, blissful relaxation— that is AWESOME.
laughing so hard for so long that you forget what you started laughing about in the first place. #Awesome
mini cows that sound like birds.. those are awesome!
Is the giveaway open to Canada? If so, I’d love to enter! I find getting to the bus stop just 5-10 seconds before the bus arrives is very awesome. I also find getting to the metro/subway and the metro is just there waiting for you with its doors wide open with a seat available, that’s awesome too. =)