Is there really anything wrong with being nice? In a conversation with a male, single friend of mine - one of the nicest, most considerate people I know - he revealed to me that he hated being called “nice” because girls don’t like nice guys. Really? What’s the alternative? Mean guys? A waitress I know once told me she never was “too nice” to her customers because she felt it was unprofessional and that the diners would think she was just trying to get a bigger tip. Well, personally I am much more apt to give a big tip to a nice waitress or waiter than I am to one who is snooty and aloof. If a person is sincerely nice, it resonates. Some people, especially in business, are afraid to be nice because they think it makes them appear weak. I don’t see it that way. It takes a lot of strength to be nice to someone else, especially if you are under a lot of pressure or are having a crappy day or are stressed out to the max. It is not weak to care about other people, to try to make their day a little better, or to not take out your frustrations on people who have nothing to do with creating those frustrations. There are those who feel that nice is not “cool”. I think nice is the height of cool! Of course I am not exactly the exemplification of cool. I will never, ever be accused of being a hipster role model. But there are some things that are ultimately a whole lot more satisfying than being cool. Consideration, brightening someone else's day, being nice to another person is satisfying and it can help to reverse a situation that is spiraling downward. The easiest thing in the world is to combat meanness with more meanness. A little niceness on the other hand can keep the situation from going from bad to worse. Niceness might just even turn a bad situation into a good one. And even if it doesn’t, there is a certain satisfaction that comes from taking the high road. I will admit it – I am not always nice. In fact I used to be a lot nicer than I am now. I used to think that I was “too nice” - that people walked all over me or took advantage. So I became less nice. Honestly, I like myself a lot more when I am nice. I finally realized that I am smart enough to know when someone is taking advantage of me and I have enough guts to not let that happen. I finally figured out that I don’t have to sacrifice who I really am to do it. When I think of niceness I think of gluten free cupcakes. And the hospitality of gracious Southern housewives. It seems like every old school Southern housewife has a recipe for Italian Cream Cake. The recipes, while similar, vary slightly. Some put pecans inside the cake, others only sprinkle them on the frosting, and still others have no pecans at all. Some fold chopped up maraschino cherries into the batter, others simply add the maraschino cherry juice. But they all seem to use a combination of shortening and butter, have coconut in or on them, and top it off with cream cheese frosting, and they are all delicious. This is my gluten free version, in cupcake form. While I could extol the virtues of these Gluten Free Italian Cream Cupcakes and use all sorts of synonyms for wonderful, perhaps the best thing I can say about them right now is that they are… very nice!