recommended reading

I've always loved reading, and always hated reading non-fiction.  20 years ago my husband tried to increase my exposure to non-fiction (or foist an appreciation of non-fiction on me) by making me read Primo Levi, John McFee, Bill Bryson and Joseph Mitchell.  And it's not that I didn't enjoy them - but they didn't engage me the way novels do, and after I finished Up in the Old Hotel (which was over 1,000 pages long) I'd had enough of non-fiction for awhile.  But more recently I've started listening to audio books while I'm driving, and I've come across several non-fiction books that have interested, challenged, and in a few cases, profoundly changed me.  Here are a few of them:

Hold On to Your Kids by Gordon Neufeld, PhD and Gabor Mate, MD

Regeneration by Sayer Ji

Bad Therapy by Abigail Shrier

Good Energy by Casey Means, MD    

Introduction to Swedenborg's Religious Thought by John Spaulding

Revelation by Russel Brand 

Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman

A Letter to Liberals by RFK Jr.  

How to Break Up with your Phone by Catherine Price 

Thrilled to Death by Archibald D. Hart, Dennis Kleinman and Thomas Nelson 

The Case Against Socialism by Rand Paul

Recovery by Russel Brand  

Non Obvious Thinking: How to See What Others Miss by Rohit Bhargava and Ben duPont 

The Let them Theory by Mel Robbins 

I'm currently wrestling with We Who Wrestle With God by Jordan Peterson.  I started it on Audible, but found that it's too dense for casual listening. It's brilliant and complex, and I want to be able to stop and go back over certain concepts as I go.

yoga with emily

I'm on day 7 of Yoga With Adriene, which was recommended to me many years ago by the late great Duane Lavold, and more recently by a poised and vital 86 year old actress. The sessions are short and relatively 'easy' - if yoga can ever be considered easy.  (I find if I'm doing even the simplest poses to the best of my ability it's kind of hard.)

My interest was kindled after a weekend retreat at my sister's house, where we did two days of yoga and holotropic breathing. I don't want to be overly dramatic, but something foundational changed during that time.  I felt an openness that I hadn't experienced before.  And I wanted to bring whatever that feeling was - peace, acceptance, courage - into my life in a more regular and meaningful way.  So I determined to start up my own practice... But I didn't end up following through on it.  Life got in the way of my intentions as it often does. (Life seems to be endless cycles of discovering and forgetting and rediscovering - spirals leading us back around again and again, making slow progress, but leaving us with some kernel of understanding we didn't have before, if ever so small.) 

It wasn't until later that yoga was brought back to my consciousness by a friend mentioning it.  And so I decided to commit to this program for 30 days.  Adrien is sweet, the classes are pleasant, and doing 30 days seems manageable.  I'm not expecting a transformation, but  I trust the experience will benefit me mentally as well as physically.

No epiphanies yet.  But my body is sore (in a good way) and building some strength. And my impatient mind is starting to simmer down a bit. 

So far so good.

It's been awhile...

My book on The Dr. Oz Show

I appeared on The Dr. Oz show on May 25th to talk about my children's book, HOW TO TAME A MONSTER!!!! 

Here's the link:

http://www.doctoroz.com/episode/food-truth-mark-hyman-reveals-truth-about-vegetable-oil?video_id=4909907861001

Dr. Oz is promoting reading to your kids often and early, and supporting Books Across America with UPS.

Here's more info:

https://www.doctoroz.com/press-release/books-across-america-gets-books-hands-young-children-help-dr-oz-show-ups-scholastic


You can get my book on Amazon.
http://amzn.com/147874748X

FREE BOOK GIVEAWAY

Author and educator Bonnie Harris is doing a free book giveaway with 'How to Tame a Monster'.

Go to her blog for more information:

http://bonnieharris.com/do-you-have-a-monster-living-in-your-house/

What I've been up to...

My first children's book, HOW TO TAME A MONSTER, is out in print!



Buy HOW TO TAME A MONSTER now:  Amazon  |  Barnes and Noble  |  Books-A-Million |  Outskirts Press | 

Locks of love

 So proud of my sweet Jemima who donated her crowning glory to locks of love.
  http://locksoflove.org/

 

Before

After

yes!

these little lights of mine

take 2...

love song

Tonight I introduced my daughters to one of my all-time favorite songs. 

my singing girls

still dancing

-but never far from a book for long.

album cover

Charlotte's aunt Lemon calls her 'Charlo', which would be a great name for a band...   When she puts out an album this is the photo she should use for the cover.

well said

I liked this article...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristin-van-ogtrop/lean-in-stand-up_b_2971009.html

look what i found...

holy cow

My daughter has a 'Hole-y Cow' toy that shoots balls out of its mouth, which she finds very entertaining....   But not as entertaining as making her little sister say "holy cow!"

dora the explorer

Having watched many many episodes of Dora the Explorer, I found this funny.

And this, too...

sublime smoothie

After I did the quinoa post I decided to share this smoothie recipe as well.  It's an updated 'magic drink'.  (I used to do one with orange juice and banana - but this one is more refreshing, and it includes greens - so I like to have one every day.)

The basic idea is a base of kale (or spinach or any other dark, leafy greens) in coconut water - and you add sweet fruits to make the flavor of the greens more pleasant.  You can mix up the fruit choices.  Some days I use berries and pineapple, others I'll use peaches and grapes - just use what you have around.  I also add a few supplements.

Oh, and by the way, I'm not so good with measuring.  I just kind of throw things in, which I know is not very helpful when giving out a recipe...   If your drink ends up being too thick, just add more coconut water and blend some more.  You'll get the hang of how much fruit to add for your preferred consistency after you've done it a couple of times

BASE
About 2 cups of coconut water
about 1 cup of kale
1/2 apple

FRUIT (pick a couple)
frozen pineapple (ma
frozen berries
frozen peaches
grapes

SUPPLEMENTS
1 scoop multivitamin powder
1 TBSP flax seed oil
1 TBSP coconut oil
1 TBSP chia seeds

Just mix everything in a high-powered blender (like a Vitamix) and enjoy! 

daphne's quinoa salad

 I've never liked the flavor of quinoa...  to me it always tastes a little like dirt.  But when I tried my niece's salad I changed my opinion of the grain.  This recipe is delicious - so I thought I'd share it:

Daphne's Quinoa Salad

about 3 cups cooked quinoa

blanch a handful of string beans (pop in salted boiling water for 15 seconds until just tender and then shock in a bowl of ice water to stop cooking); chop into bite size pieces

sautee/fry thinly sliced shallots or onions, about 1 small onion total

2 tablespoons dried currants

1 can cooked garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 can cooked kidney beans, drained and rinsed

candied lemon zest, optional

toss onions, currants, and garbanzo/kidney beans all together in a bowl with quinoa and string beans while they are still warm. make dressing: 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon maple syrup/honey or agave; juice from 1/2 lemon, salt, pepper, 1/2 tsp ground coriander (more to taste). Pour dressing over and allow steam/dressing to help currants plump up. If you want a little heat, chop in 1/4 habanero pepper. add fresh chopped parsley & slivered almonds if desired. Enjoy!!

 

 

P.s. I use cranberries instead of currants, and I leave out the lemon zest. 

i love this girl...