tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11435113382884617152024-02-01T22:54:32.799-08:00The Library ReportUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger115125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-43072018501372836102016-01-07T09:16:00.002-08:002016-01-07T09:19:00.297-08:00Harry PotterWylie picked up the Harry Potter Books in the summer and fall of 2014. He started reading them voraciously and non-stop. He would sit in the green chairs or in the corner of the couch curled up and just reading consistently. We were concerned with the Goblet of Fire book as it gets into the teenager subject matter and issues.<br />
He put the book down for awhile and started reading lots of other books but wasn't keen on the Harry Potter books for some time.<br />
It is now January 2016 and Harry Potter is back in the game. He's very excited about the story and yet again is ignoring the rest of the world to read about the boy wonder.<br />
Ron Weasley is still the greatest character.<br />
<br />
For Wylie this knocks off picking up a book he started but put down.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-38690490885494482952016-01-04T09:55:00.000-08:002016-01-04T09:55:04.675-08:00The 2016 reading challengeReading is a big part of our life as is the library. Video games have not taken over Wylie's reading time nor has homework taken over.<br />
2015 represented a year in which we faced many challenges with finding appropriate reading material for Wylie. He was reading at a much higher grade and comprehension level, yet appropriate subject matter and content was tough to find.<br />
We relied on our local library to give us the access to tons of books that may or may not be interesting. Wylie self-selected to reading non-fiction books on particular topics of interest to him and fiction books that were semi-interesting to him. The librarians were incredibly helpful in recommending fiction books as well as helping Wylie navigate the library to go peruse the aisles of interest.<br />
<br />
A blog that I notice (Literary Mama) posted a Reading Challenge for 2016. Wylie and I decided we are going to try to do this challenge which should be interesting.<br />
Here is that challenge...<br />
Read the following in 2016:<br />
1. A book published in 2016<br />
2. A book you can finish in one day<br />
3. A book you've been meaning to read<br />
4. A book recommended by your local librarian or bookseller<br />
5.A book you should have read in school (Wylie is opting to make this a book suggested by school)<br />
6. A book chosen for you by your spouse, partner, parent, sibling, child or best friend<br />
7. A book published before you were born<br />
8. A book that was banned at some point<br />
9. A book you have previously abandoned<br />
10. A book you own but have never read<br />
11. A book that intimidates you<br />
12. A book you have read at least once.<br />
<br />
This should make for a book a month and an interesting year!<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-30743846825178952502014-04-07T08:18:00.000-07:002014-04-07T08:18:56.607-07:00Wylie recommended books...<br />
<div class="entry-content">
<div class="firstletter">
An interesting writing prompt from a blog "The Literary Mama"<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Write a review of one book you’ve read based on your child’s recommendation
or urging. Why does he/she like it? Why were you hesitant to read it? Did your
initial impression about it change? Why did he/she really want you to read it?
</span></div>
</div>
<!-- .entry-content --><br />
<br />
I've read many a book I wouldn't normally pick up and read or pick up and read to Wylie because he has gravitated toward it. This includes but is not limited to books on hero dogs, star wars characters, pirate school, and dinosaurs at school. There are books he wants to read or wants me to read to him that I would rather chuck in the trash mostly because the story is sappy and icky and rather poorly written. There are also the books he picks that end up being favorites that we sit and read together for over an hour at a time.<br />
<br />
I now have less control over the books he picks from the library as his school has a very well stocked library and has two librarians to help the students pick out books. What I really LOVE about this is that the librarians DO NOT BELIEVE in making children pick books at their reading level! This means Wylie is bringing home chapter books he loves, and is bringing home books that he will struggle to read certain words in but still loves the story. What is tough about this policy is that sometimes he brings books home that I would rather not read to him and secretly hope he forgets about quickly.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-72409949391194045622014-04-07T08:17:00.002-07:002014-04-07T08:17:57.466-07:00Wylie Reading UpdateWe are nearing the end of first grade and Wylie is reading off the charts. He is a very studious reader and a very eclectic reader as well. Each week his class visits the library at school and can bring home up to four books at a time. Wylie brings home everything from Magic Tree House books (covering Titanic, Rome, Greece, San Francisco, and Egypt) to National Geographic books (Tigers are the main interest) and Sports related books.<br />
He is also reading among his books at home:<br />
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone<br />
Geronimo Stilton<br />
Book One in the Series of Unfortunate Events<br />
Donald Duck Original Comics which are stories told in comic/graphic novel version.<br />
<br />
His reading level based on school assessment is around 5th or 6th grade. His comprehension of non-fiction topics is around 6th to 7th grade. This means he is reading non-fiction science, astronomy, history, geography, and similar subject areas and understanding them. He is asking questions that involve making connections and considerations of the topic. He then if needed puts the knowledge into practice.<br />
<br />
All of this is great except I miss him asking to be read to at night. He now likes to read on his own.<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-12118670506522267292014-04-07T08:11:00.000-07:002014-04-07T08:11:01.590-07:00Neil GaimanI read Neil Gaiman's "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" this weekend. It took me a bit to get into it, but then I just hit my stride and read the whole thing.<br />
Initially I picked it up because of the author alone and my enjoyment of "American Gods," but this one straddles the fantasy and reality line so thinly that I really enjoyed it.<br />
Here is my take on it:<br />
1. If you have the time to block out the rest of the world and just read this book cover to cover in one sitting/breath DO IT.<br />
2. It will absorb you in almost every manner of thought.<br />
3. We ALL had a childhood of good, bad, or indifferent that involved grownups and life changing events. This is a view of that childhood from a child's point of view.<br />
4. It is a child's point of view and memory of events, remember that as you read it as an adult. This is not simple adult version of a child's point of view. IT IS the child's point of view.<br />
<br />
I really loved this book.<br />
There are passages in which a young girl is leading the story and reaching out to lead you with her hand. She is not narrator but her voice is equally as strong in the story. The narrator is a middle-age man who has shed his age and returned us to his childhood. In particular just a few days of his childhood. He gives a background leading up to the events in the story yet seamlessly moves us from background to events to present day in the book.<br />
<br />
There are parts of the book that are not just words but full images and memories of our own. Most of us had a point in childhood where our imaginations took us far into a fantasy world where we could be powerful and magical and our size and age did not matter. Neil Gaiman takes us into the world with his narrator. Instead of completely dissolving into the fantasy, he keeps reality and "this world" in tandem and along side the fantasy.<br />
We can all say "it's just a fence covered with crows," but what we see is a crotchety being covered with carrion birds waiting to take our soul to another place. We see and know the "reality" but feel and experience the magical.<br />
<br />
Fantastic book.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-23998088980587920442013-05-02T05:20:00.004-07:002013-05-02T05:20:50.682-07:00Wylie and ReadingI haven't posted in a very long time.<br />
Mainly because Kindergarten started and we have been very busy reading and learning and reading and doing maths and reading and doing science experiments and reading and learning new games and well TONS of reading.<br />
<br />
In January Wylie had officially zoomed through and completed all the Kindergarten reading books in his class curricula. His book selections from the library moved from books to have us read to him to more non-fiction books that he could read and explore on his own. These ranged from the DK Eyewitness series to National Geographics. He also brought home books that he was reading in class and wanted more. These were the Henry and Mudge books.<br />
<br />
It is now the beginning of May. Wylie is reading currently at a 4th grade level and his teacher is working to find curricula to engage He still trips over words and wants us to read to him. In fact he will get his pajamas on early so that he can enjoy a bit of television and still have time to be read to at bedtime. He doesn't give up his reading time and has been known to wake up in the middle of the night completely upset he didn't get his book at bed. Of course the waking up part is usually because it has been such a busy day he fell asleep before he could be read to!<br />
<br />
We will share interesting books that we are reading soon.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-53106837924301574732012-08-06T07:22:00.001-07:002012-08-06T07:22:09.755-07:00David Sedaris and Ann PatchettI was intrigued by a colleagues review of "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris so I hunted it down at the library. It starts off rather dull and only when he begins to explain his life in France and attempts to learn the language as well as the French reaction to his attempts does the book actually turn out okay. I'm not a Sedaris fan.<br />
<br />
I also picked up Ann Patchet's State of Wonder--about a biotechnology scientist hunting down a field scientist in the Amazon. It is through travel and experiences outside our comfort and norm that we learn about how to view other experiences. In some ways you realize how inward looking the main character is and how self-centered she is although she views everyone else in that manner.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-50824788183437472802012-06-01T09:15:00.002-07:002012-06-01T09:15:58.411-07:00The smell of books...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzbfvESlINC8UtGc3QPVnZre4d8iLIKvChbMdEWLVp-2ylo5NWAxLa8c731h6IIl33AVOF-1zqO8VXz_YzXjYu9Hn1SrKqLeAOg-V9SjP8XVoo7DK49gTwoWjhOpefeyjYe_u_WIp6vUA/s1600/Old+Book+Smell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzbfvESlINC8UtGc3QPVnZre4d8iLIKvChbMdEWLVp-2ylo5NWAxLa8c731h6IIl33AVOF-1zqO8VXz_YzXjYu9Hn1SrKqLeAOg-V9SjP8XVoo7DK49gTwoWjhOpefeyjYe_u_WIp6vUA/s320/Old+Book+Smell.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This is so the reason I love secondhand book stores and the library!</div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-5348643382343985562012-05-01T10:57:00.000-07:002012-05-01T10:58:16.363-07:00Writing Again...<br />
<ul class="uiList uiStream uiStreamHomepage translateParent UIIntentionalStream_Content" data-referrer="home_stream" id="home_stream">
<li class="uiUnifiedStory uiStreamStory genericStreamStory uiStreamBoulderHighlight aid_110124645682270 uiListItem uiListLight uiListVerticalItemBorder" data-ft="{"qid":"5737621648571875638","mf_story_key":"-3359203035934751970"}" id="stream_story_4fa0207e32bd96474768768"><div class="storyContent">
<div class="UIImageBlock clearfix">
<div class="storyInnerContent UIImageBlock_Content UIImageBlock_MED_Content">
<div class="mainWrapper">
<h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}">
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}" style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">"The hardest part is the first three sentences. Sitting down with pen and paper
and getting those first three sentences out." ~ Madeleine L'Engle</span></h6>
<h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}">
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}" style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">My friend Starla is a writer, life coach, gardener, and in general a pretty cool person overall with a company called Outwrite Living. She posts quotes like the one above every once in awhile that really make me think and resonate with a book that I'm reading or make me go back to reading more. It was Starla who hooked me up with the Emerson writing project that really had me thinking. </span></h6>
<h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}">
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}" style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">So to the quote above the hardest part is the first three sentences, well mine came out really quickly and I'm curious what the rest of the story holds. As I continue to write hopefully I can share more...</span></h6>
<h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}">
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}" style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">"Hobbes had precariously balanced on the edge of the green couch all morning. He watched the construction workers in the street outside the front window moving dirt and rocks and pavement. It was 2:30pm exactly when Holliday let out a low growl and lunged for the window knocking Hobbes to the ground."</span></h6>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</li>
</ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-32709764944883194212012-04-05T07:13:00.002-07:002012-04-05T07:13:45.763-07:00Library Fines and New BooksFirst it's been a long time since I wrote about our trips to the library. It is not that we haven't been to the library, rather that we have been reading so much and doing other things that I haven't taken the time to write.<br />
<br />
Library Fines!<br />
We had several of our favorite books out for too long and then forgot to renew them. Then we realized a few were "new" to the library which gives us even higher fines.<br />
Total payment was...<br />
$26.50!<br />
OUCH.<br />
I must admit we loved the books.<br />
<br />
So what are the new books we are reading<br />
<br />
1. What Makes Us Fat? Great review of several scientific studies from 1900-2010 looking at how fat is formed in our bodies, why the calorie in/calorie out theory does not work, what is it about where fat forms in our bodies is genetic but at the same time not always a food decision.<br />
Two interesting points: 1. 20 extra calories a day adds up to 10 extra pounds very quickly. 2. As we age and grow our bodies overeat to allow for growth yet we do not gain fat but our gaining fat even when we eat little and exercise significantly has something that means there is another reason for gaining fat.<br />
<br />
2. Wiley and Grandpa and BIGFOOT!<br />
<br />
3. Lego Starwars Phantom Menace.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-54627320304672857602012-02-03T08:42:00.000-08:002012-02-03T08:42:33.367-08:00New BooksI Spy Books<br />
Scooby I can Read<br />
Dinosaur Cove<br />
SPSHDS<br />
<br />
These are the books we love right now. Wylie can read by sounding out the words slowly but surely the I Spy books with a bit of help from Wyatt and I. He spells the word, sounds it out and then works to find the right pronounciation and then gets to find the object. In some of the bigger words we help him, but for the most part he gets the pronounciation right which is a big deal and makes him happy. Lower case u's and n's give him a bit of run for the money in that he reverses them continually. I wonder about that but not too worried. <br />
The Scooby I can Read book has pictures for common objects instead of words and that makes Wylie very excited to be able to "read" part of the story to me and then add in the words that he knows by sight. In the back are the pictures he "read" with the words spelled out underneath. He then spells those words and puts the two together. Kind of cool. <br />
<br />
Dinosaur Cove is a new series of chapter books we are enjoying about two boys who become friends while hunting for dinosaur fossils. Lots of adventure and lots of fun. <br />
<br />
SPSHDS is just pure alien fun written by our favorite authors of the Time Warp Trio and Math Curse. <br />
<br />
Great visit to the library and looking forward to a few weeks of great reading.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-52886965812596203712012-01-23T08:03:00.000-08:002012-01-23T08:03:02.513-08:00Full Dark No StarsStephen King is back to who he was before he started writing just to make money. Okay not a totally fair assessment but for awhile he lost me and it felt like he was writing a bunch of junk that was a neat idea for the back of the book and then had maybe a 50 page story that his editor convinced him to turn into a 500 page book. <br />
<br />
This is the macabre and dark writing that just mystifies me. It is the reality that you know can and does exist in very normal people. It is the reality turned on its side ever so gently and then wham you start looking at people a bit differently. <br />
<br />
He explains where it came from and how it got to where it ended. <br />
<br />
A quick read similar to his short stories from the early writings and he even writes that they remind him of his very early writings such as The Long Walk. <br />
<br />
It was a happy read.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-14807994272079448372012-01-23T07:12:00.000-08:002012-01-23T07:12:10.822-08:00Death Comes to PemberlyThank you P.D. James!<br />
Finally an author who captured the simplicity of Austen with the devilishness of the author's own style. It wasn't just a continuation of Austen but it was the story we wanted to know yet the story that was in P.D.James not in our heads necessarily. <br />
I loved the twist even if there was a bit that was WAY too obvious. <br />
I love that Darcy is still an idiot at times and that Lydia is still a flit. <br />
I think though Elizabeth wasn't as solid as she could have been but then again maybe it is a side of her we never saw fully as a single woman?<br />
<br />
It was a wonderful read by one of my favorite authors.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-37558030205824684762012-01-17T05:45:00.000-08:002012-01-17T05:45:24.293-08:00E-Books, My Kindle, and the Library!So our local library has the literature out to program your library card and kindle to check out e-books. I'm very excited about this as the books have internal "bombs" built in so that they just disappear when the due date comes and you have no fines! YES! They have online resources as well that can be found here in their <a href="http://fairfax.lib.overdrive.com/2A216B0A-E0EF-494A-9064-107288741260/10/352/en/help.htm">Overdrive</a> system. <br />
<br />
I also found out that if you are an Amazon Prime member (cost around $70 a year) you can borrow books for the Amazon Kindle for free at a rate of about 1 to 2 a month. You must return the book to the Amazon lending library before borrowing a new one and it is permanently erased from your Kindle but still a good idea. This resource is available for new books as well as older titles. I have "tried" the beginning of two series through this method and now will most likely buy the next book in the series. Yes I will BUY the next book in the series.<br />
<br />
So why am I interested and excited about this and what is the concern?<br />
Interest One: Way to get access to more books with more portability<br />
Interest Two: Possibly way to avoid the ouch factor of my ever existing library fines. $30+ this time!!!!<br />
Concern: The libraries keeping up with e-demand and keeping up with the stodgy and freaking publishers. The article by the Washington Post on the issue can be found <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/as-demand-for-e-books-soars-libraries-struggle-to-stock-their-virtual-shelves/2012/01/13/gIQAkIOXzP_story.html">here</a>. <br />
<br />
The publishers need to learn that if you give me something to try at the library for free or to read then the library will buy more and I will eventually buy more. The libraries can eventually charge a minor cost for the access or will actually see the shift in their costs from just hard bound to the e-book licenses. In either case more people reading is a good thing.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-81132133435887024342011-11-03T07:28:00.001-07:002011-11-03T07:28:37.286-07:00Dangerous BooksTwo books that will soon be in our library...<br />
The Dangerous Book for Boys<br />
50 Dangerous Things You Should Do with Your ChildrenUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-40044797635779830712011-10-18T04:17:00.000-07:002011-10-18T04:17:20.634-07:00Time Warp Trio, Wiley and Grandpa, Neil GaimanWylie and I have been very big users of the library recently. Very big users. <br />
We really like our local library which is the Kings Park Library. <br />
We've been dropped off with the stroller and our book bag by Wyatt in the evening only to use the stroller as our book bag carrier as we were laden down with 25 books and walked home. <br />
We've found a librarian we love there. <br />
We have found out that there are LEGO creations by patrons there. <br />
We have found out that they have a full set of TIME WARP TRIO books and a new series of books...<br />
WILEY AND GRANDPA CREATURE FEATURES. <br />
<br />
That last one is really important. <br />
Wylie is really into chapter books. We read two to three chapters at night. So we now get two to three books from the library. We also get our DK/Eyewitness books but it's the chapter books that rock our world. <br />
Wylie was most excited when we read "Summer Reading is Killing Me" as it had reference to so many books but he had actually read and remembered the characters in three of the books. He asked if we could get them again from the library. <br />
We now are building a reading list for him. He's also starting to read again. :)<br />
<br />
As for me. I'm back to my 40 for 40 list. <br />
Neil Gaiman "American Gods" Great book. Not science fiction but not quite reality. Not quite drama but not quite anything. It's compelling and makes me look at people outside a bit differently. Loving it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-55134746240802169522011-09-08T06:05:00.000-07:002011-09-08T06:05:10.969-07:00Library Fine ConfessionOkay Wylie and I must confess and we admit our sin...<br />
<br />
$10.25 in fines! 8 books at 25cents a day! But as the librarian said we must have loved those books and to be honest we did. <br />
We also pointed out that the library now had enough money to buy a new book. <br />
<br />
So this is a good thing right?????<br />
<br />
Ah well, back to remembering to return our books. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-1407869154828919092011-09-07T08:02:00.000-07:002011-09-07T08:02:45.283-07:00Silver LiningsToday is a grey and rainy day. The kind that begs for a good book, a good blanket, a comfy chair and a cup of something yummy. It is a good reading day. <br />
As a child days like these were seen as silver lining days by my mom. Here are a few glimpses of her silver linings...<br />
1. Summer at the beach and a full on chilly rainy day. No house work, no beach time, no outside play time. The perfect day to do what you do on vacation...Relax. Pick up a book and find a good chair to read in. It would be quiet for hours before someone would yawn, stretch and ask "what's for lunch?" At which point we'd either all pile into the car for some exploration of the boardwalk which would be empty of tourists due to the rain OR we'd make grilled cheeses and sit at the table and play games. <br />
<br />
2. Rainy winter days during the holidays. Perfect day to pull out old cook books and make cookies or holiday treats and read quietly with the heat on. Relax. There were many a day to rush through traffic and worry about many things but the days that involved us all at home were sometimes just days to read. Some of those days my dad would read out loud to us. Silver was to be found on those days to. <br />
<br />
So what are my silver linings for today which could only be described as a less than perfect day...<br />
1. I have my rain gear for my motorcycle which keeps me warm and dry for the bike ride to the train which also gave me exercise and vigor this morning. <br />
2. The rain actually stopped for the 15 minutes while I had to walk from Charles St to Pratt street because the buses still aren't running on Pratt. <br />
3. My colleague will give me a ride to the train station on the way home. <br />
<br />
Final silver lining for the day...finding new Christmas patterns for my kindle to review on the ride home.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-20304489950091908162011-09-06T08:18:00.000-07:002011-09-06T08:18:10.364-07:00Kings Park Library BranchNew Librarian Love!<br />
Wylie walked shyly up and asked for a DK Pirate Book. This is one of those eyewitness series books that we've loved in the past on Mummies, Egypt, Bugs, Food etc. She not only walked us over to the area where the book could be found but pulled out a super awesome Piratology book with a compass on the front for Wylie to read. She then also asked us if we were familiar with a few other pirate books as Wylie was obviously a big fan. <br />
<br />
We also found chapter books for the Time Warp Trio Series! We loved the television series but this is a whole new ball game of fun with the books as they offer detail and imagination the television show cannot add. <br />
We found one more fun book that was such a good book we read it cover to cover in one sitting. It was purely for fun and worth every moment. <br />
"Wiley and Grandpa" (and yes Wylie did point out they spelled his name wrong). Not every day you find a book written about you! <br />
<br />
That was our library love this week.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-32849926416276469892011-08-02T09:03:00.000-07:002011-08-02T09:03:33.353-07:00Nourishing Traditions-Sally FallonThe full title of the book is "Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats"<br />
<br />
<br />
Through a local (Loudon County) farmer <a href="http://www.chicamarun.com/">Chicama Run Farms</a> I found this book. It's part cook book, part nutritional history, part college education text book, and part lifestyle/homemaker book. YES all of those things in one. AND YES it's quite thick so I have to say I'm glad it was a soft back and on sale and available through Amazon Prime. :) <br />
<br />
The author has about four pages of references and nutritionists, dieticians and doctors as well as historians at the end of her introduction alone that give her credibility above and beyond most of the diet or "diet lifestyle" books out there. She refers to valid clinical trials as well as historical realities. She does get preachy at times and there are recipes and areas in which I think "Well, I'll substitute good old refined white sugar or turbinado sugar" instead of her recommendation of rapadura or something similar. <br />
<br />
She has a section for each of the parts of nourishment that we as humans take in. This isn't a way of justifying poptarts or demonizing butter. It is pointing out proteins in all their different forms and counterparts, vitamins and their uses and in some cases overuse issues, minerals, carbohydrates (here she includes fruit and veg), dairy, fats, beverages-I love that she makes this a category of nourishment, enzymes, spices and salt. <br />
<br />
She then breaks "food" into three categories, nourishing traditional foods, compromise foods, and "newfangled" foods. It really makes you realized that the more your basic meat, fruit, veg, grain, water, spice, salt is messed with the less it is good for you NO MATTER WHAT ANY ONE SAYS. <br />
<br />
The other fun part of the book is that throughout she puts up the ingredients of products that are relatively common in the local grocery store without putting up the name of the product. This is a fun challenge as I have read a few of these to my 4.5 year old and he thinks I'm making up names and that it can't possibly be part of an actual recipe for a food item. When we find out what it is he is shocked and I am appalled and that item is promptly listed as NEVER COMING INTO OUR HOUSE AGAIN. In some cases we are pleasantly suprised with the small ingredient list and how it is something we really love. With no reason to wonder why! <br />
<br />
I haven't made a recipe out of the book. Mainly as I still have all of my kitchen items in storage as we are still living with the in-laws until next week. After that I cannot wait to get the kitchen set up and the cooking to begin. <br />
I hope you take the time to read and enjoy the book as much as I did.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-60617212228424994572011-08-01T06:11:00.000-07:002011-08-01T06:11:42.002-07:00Back into Old HabitsSo Wylie and I have missed the return date for our books on Saturday which means we are facing a .25cent per book charge! We currently have about 7 books out but will be returning them today!<br />
Heads hanging in shame with that but tonight we will be having fun returning and getting new books.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-33817130139392897552011-07-06T06:52:00.000-07:002011-07-06T06:52:30.826-07:00Prompt: AlivestAlive-est<br />
<em>Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. If we follow the truth, it will bring us out safe at last.</em> - Ralph Waldo Emerson<br />
<br />
When did you feel most alive recently? Where were you? What did you smell? What sights and sounds did you experience? Capture that moment on paper and recall that feeling. Then, when it’s time to create something, read your own words to reclaim a sense of being to motivate you to complete a task at hand.<br />
<br />
I feel most alive when in nature. Sounds simple. It isn't just on a farm or in the woods or at the beach etc. It's when I take the time to be outside and breathe. It's when I take the time to think while outside about the miracle of life itself in the blade of grass, the bird eating my blueberries, the smell of ozone after a rainshower and most definitely when I am with my son stopping to experience all of those things. <br />
Knowing I'm going to be home to experience that again is key to me!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-6341774654214325532011-07-06T06:41:00.000-07:002011-07-06T06:48:24.625-07:00Prompt: Call to ArmsCall to Arms <br />
<br />
<em>The secret of fortune is joy in our hands.</em> – Ralph Waldo Emerson<br />
<br />
What if today, right now, no jokes at all, you were actually in charge, the boss, the Head Honcho. Write the “call to arms” note you’re sending to everyone (staff, customers, suppliers, Board) charting the path ahead for the next 12 months and the next 5 years. Now take this manifesto, print it out somewhere you can see, preferably in big letters you can read from your chair. You’re just written your own job description. You know what you have to do. Go! (bonus: send it to the CEO with the title “The things we absolutely have to get right – nothing else matters.”)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Hi it's Eli!<br />
So this one is so timely. I was given the "temporary head honcho" role on 6/30/11 to last for two weeks. It didn't give me a big head and it didn't give me a ton of anxiety after 24 hours. Granted I've been having dreams about each of my teammates for the past week which is weird but for the most part I think working on a team and working with this team we are all prepared for the day in which we take the reins for awhile.We are all very lucky to have a great mentor in our boss and the opportunity to grow. This does not mean I can do the intricate parts of my teammates jobs by any means but it does mean that I can not do my job completely without their support. <br />
I am not sure I would write a call to arms memo sending it to everyone on the team rather I would call a lunch meeting and then talk about the changes and send the memo later as a follow up. I would also meet with everyone on a one to one basis to understand what they want to do and how we can meet those needs. I look to lead with a team in place and as a team. <br />
My plans for the team in the next 12 months would fall into three categories:<br />
1. Fiscal-I want to stem the flow of funds out of our budget in the early part of the year to other teams in the organization to cover their seeming lack of planning. We need to be prepared for these cuts in our planning and make sure that we have our budget in travel, research services, and external support teams set up properly and contracted so we do not lose those resources. I want to be very firm on stemming the tide of funds flowing out of our budget. It is demoralizing to our team to continually be told our projects are not important and then be told to scramble and get the work done at the least price and with the least amount of time. It does not show that we are truly appreciated and it tends to show that we are undervalued. <br />
<br />
2. Employee Training- Each year as a team we pick our conferences as ones we want to attend without really thinking about what we get out of the programs at the conference on a personal, team and corporate level. We tend to send folks to one or two of the same conferences each year and come back with similar thoughts. I want to rethink our conferences and turn it on it's head to sending each of us to a course or a seminar or training program. In 2009 and 2010 Chris and I participated in a certificate program it taught us more than just the material in the book and online. It taught us project and time management. It taught us collaboration beyond what we were doing already. In 2011 Chiko attended a multivariate analysis course recently bringing back knowledge of how to review and revisit our presentation and analysis of research. He also shared this knowledge with our extended Evaluserve team expanding their capabilities and thus expanding our offerings and capabilities within Laureate. The training doesn't have to be specific to market research in some cases as we expand into new verticals and new countries it might be the following:<br />
A. Learning a new language for example having Elaine take a Spanish immersion course at a local community college or online as she works with NHU<br />
B.Learning about the new verticle Charles to Kendall College or to a culinary/hospitality conference to learn more about the difficulties facing the potential student. <br />
C. Participating in one of our current universities online offerings as a credit earning student. <br />
Training in market research is much more than attending a research conference and making new contacts. It is continuing to learn. <br />
<br />
3.Corporate Focus--We usually tend to be Walden and online focused when it comes to budget and project planning which does not always work for our team. We need to move away from this and start planning our projects as global projects. What would gather information for our universities and help us learn more about our students, about our true 5 to 10 year plans for education (not just financial growth plans), and the changing work/education/life environment. <br />
We need to start making a fundamental shift in our internal clients focus of short term focus to long term focus. We all struggle with this both from a client management/relationship and from a client planning point of view. How do we HELP our clients plan for their future with regard to the needs of their college? <br />
<br />
What I would really like to know from my team mates is what they would do if they were the boss? How would they change? Where do we agree? Where do we disagree? How do we NOT find middle ground but find a way to make fundamental and positive movement toward being one of the best? How do we generate or prove financial independence? My goal to be able to have our team operate as a completely separate entity within the company. <br />
<br />
So that is my "Call to Arms."Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-73841576537101315412011-07-05T08:43:00.000-07:002011-07-05T08:43:39.205-07:00Prompt: Most OrdinaryMost Ordinary <br />
<br />
<em>Good and bad are but names very readily transferable to that or this; the only right is what is after my constitution, the only wrong what is against it</em>. – Ralph Waldo Emerson <br />
<br />
We are our most potent at our most ordinary. And yet most of us discount our “ordinary” because it is, well, ordinary. Or so we believe. But my ordinary is not yours. Three things block us from putting down our clever and picking up our ordinary: false comparisons with others (I’m not as good a writer as _____), false expectations of ourselves (I should be on the NYTimes best seller list or not write at all), and false investments in a story (it’s all been written before, I shouldn’t bother). <br />
1. What are your false comparisons? <br />
2. What are your false expectations? <br />
3. What are your false investments in a story?<br />
List them. Each keep you from that internal knowing about which Emerson writes. Each keeps you from making your strong offer to the world. Put down your clever, and pick up your ordinary.<br />
<br />
1. My false comparisons are the ones that are common among women and common among competitors. I am continually looking at my body harshly and everyone is prettier, more youthful, and more graceful, or more slimmer. When I was a runner I wasn't fast enough, when I was a dancer I only every ranked third never first, when I became a mother rather than accepting my permanent body changes I was judging myself. <br />
Oddly I try my hardest not to judge others on their appearance but I am harsh or as my husband puts it "I know to keep my mouth shut 95% of the time while my brain is doing all sorts of craziness." I think the one saving grace to the false comparison is that I do not do the "keeping up with the Joneses" thing. My comparisons are for me alone not my family, not my husband, not my child. They are perfect as they are. <br />
<br />
2. My false expectations are that one day I will wake up and be able to do it all and if I don't I am a failure of the largest percentage. That all will see only the failure not the other parts. IT takes very special friends of mine to point out the areas where I am a success. A false expectation that I do have is that I will wake up and not be obsessive about food, worry about my body and ultimately not have the ingrained issues around a food disorder that I have had my entire life. <br />
<br />
3. I don't think I have a false story or investment in a story. I believe my husband does. Me, I am ordinary but have extraordinary days that are to be shared and enjoyed. I am evolving slowly. I try things and sometimes succeed and sometimes fail. I try to bring what might be ordinary to me into the realm of extra ordinary or even magical to others by sharing. I've said it before but living with a 4.5 year old is amazing as simple and ordinary is more than that!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143511338288461715.post-64597184485594731242011-06-25T15:37:00.000-07:002011-06-25T15:37:25.659-07:00Prompt: Intuition<i>The secret of fortune is joy in our hands</i>. – Ralph Waldo Emerson<br />
<br />
<br />
1.If you could picture your intuition as a person, what would he or she look like? <br />
2. If you sat down together for dinner, what is the first thing he or she would tell you?<br />
<br />
My intuition is an old lady. Elegant and refined. She would be looking around eating cheese and crackers and telling me I told you that something isn't right. She is slow on the delivery of information.<br />
If we sat down for dinner I would be inpatient waiting for her to get there. I would be wanting to start eating anxious for the appetizer to be ready. The first thing she would tell me would be to calm down and be patient you are in too much of a hurry. If you wait and think it will work out. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0