Magazine Day!

Instead of reading a book today, I read many crafting magazines that I picked up at the library.

• Create and Decorate Holiday 2010, a lot of cute ideas, but none that would fit my house's style, I did like the following recipe: 1 bag frozen raspberries, 1/2 c sugar, 1/2 c white white, 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin, 1/2 c cold water, 1/2 c boiling water, 2 c heavy cream whipped, whip cream for garnish 1. puree raspberries, add sugar and wine, pule to dissolve sugar 2. in small bowl, soften gelatin in cool water, add boiling water, and stir to dissolve, cool, but don't allow it to harden, 3. combine gelatin and berry mixture, fold in whipped cream, please in serving bowl and chill for 3 hours.
• Homeschooling magazine- I picked it up because it said it had some science tips for elementary students. However, I HATED THIS PUBLICATION. IT CRANKED ME RIGHT UP. I respect people that home school, but I do not respect the ones that put down the public schools. This magazine was full of this. I definitely will not read one of these again.
• CardMaker Jan. 2010, Paper Crafts July/Aug. 2010, Card Maker May 2010, CardMaker July 2010, PaperCrafts March/April 2010, Paper Crafts Sept. Oct/ 2010- Cute ideas that seem pretty simple, I'll be adapting some of them for scrapbook pages too!
• Creating Keepsakes, Nov. Dec. 2010- I love this magazine. I did have a subscription, but it recently expired. I plan to renew again as soon as I have some available cash.
• Crafts n Things: Dec. 2009- Cute ideas, but I mostly liked the card ideas. I plan to adapt them to tags for scrapbook pages.

Getting the Pretty Back

by Molly Ringwald

She said this book was about getting back in touch with your essential self. Some of it was ok, but some of it just made me realize that what was affordable for her "to get her pretty back" was not practical for me!

The thing I really loved about this book were the illustrations by Ruben Toledo. They are colorful and whimsical!

Quotes I liked:

"When you are a teenager, you're forever thinking: Do they like me? When you are a grown-up, as anyone over the age of thirty can attest, the question becomes: Do I like them?"

"Early on during my lst pregnancy, a female acquaintance said, 'You'd better hope she isn't a girl, 'cause she'll suck the pretty out of you!' I sort of laughed. sort of. In a few short weeks, I found out that the baby was a girl. A few weeks after that, I was absolutely sure that the woman was right!"

Unconventional ways to stay fit: (per hour of activity)

• play vigorous air guitar
• bench-press your baby
• rearrange the furniture
• dance and sing to a Broadway album
• digging in the garden
• pushing someone in a stroller
• baking
• loading and unloading car
• chasing kids around
• putting up an xmas tree
• sweeping
• laundry/make beds
• kissing
• playing piano
• roller skating

Best advice for moms/best moments for moms:

• Sit down after a disagreement and agree to turn over a new leaf (literally) as a symbol of forgiveness.
• Cook with love. (ugh...does waffles count?)
• Be honest ...don't tell white lies to spare their feelings...if they look awful in mauve and green, tell them!
• Tell them you love them and try to get them to get along. (Impossible at my house...thanks to Nick and Jake warfare.)
• Let them know that life isn't fair and not to expect it.
• Model a confident and fearless attitude. Pass it on.
• Teach them the importance of being themselves and give them room to do it.
• Teach them to fold a towel, moonwalk, and sing a mean campfire song.
• Let them know that there are second changes when you make mistakes.
• Hug them a lot.

The Hip Chick's guide to Macrobiotics

by Jessica Porter

I really wish I had the will power and the time to eat like this author recommends. 60% vegetables and 25% whole grains. (Don't ask me about the other 15%, because I never quite figured that out.)

If I lived alone, I could probably do it. However, my husband and kids would never eat like this, so it seems impossible for me. I would have to prepare two meals which would take too much time, plus watching them eat other things would make me want them too.

Many recipes depend upon a pressure cooker too...something I never planned on buying, and they all had ingredients I've never even heard of!

Her ideas about milk did make sense to me though. Baby cows and other mammals don't drink milk their entire life, so why do humans? She said that it isn't healthy and really causes health harm. I'm not sure I want to push that idea on my children who all love milk, but I do know personally that as soon as I have a lot of milk products, my skin breaks out!

Her thoughts about sugar:

1. It leaches healthy minerals from your bones.
2. It causes mood swings and depression.
3. It produces acidic blood. Sugar doesn't just rot your blood; it rots everything!
4. It is yin and creates expansion in the system. (Think inflammation.)
5. It is addicitive.
6. It messes with your intuition.


Her section on genetically modified foods chilled my blood and reinforced everything else I've read. Humans in companies have basically started us on the road to extinction by messing with the food!

Lifestyle suggestions:

1. Do a whole body scrub (except eyes and privates) using a clean hot washcloth. It should take about ten minutes and turn your skin pink.
2. Avoid eating at least 3 hours before bed.
3. Drink only when you are thirsty.
4. Use only natural products on your skin. (Note to self: Read Glow by Christina Pirello.)
5. Use sheets, towels, blankets, rugs, and clothes made only of natural materials.
6. Keep fresh plants in the house. (I wish, mine always die!)
7. Open windows to circulate air- even in winter.
8. Minimize electric machines close to your body: cell phones, hair dryers, electric toothbrushes, etc.
9. Throw out the microwave.
10. Keep TV watching to a minimum.
11. Walk in nature.
12. Stay active.
13. Be grateful.
14. Teach others.
15. Use home remedies.

For hangovers or diarrhea: Une-sho-Kuzu
1 cup water, 1/2 umeboshi plum, 1 heaping teaspoon kuzu diluted in 1/4 cup cold spring water, a few drops shoyu (bring water and plum to a boil & simmer 3 min. add kuzu & stir constantly to avoid lumps, drink/eat when temp. is comfortable.)

Once a week to desludge diet:
carrot-daikon drink
1/2 cup grated carrot, 1/2 cup grated daikon, 1/4 umeboshi plum, 1 c spring water, 1/4 sheet nori ripped into small pieces, a few drops shoyu (bring c, d, plum and water to boil. Let simmer 3 min. add nori. Remove from heat and eat/drink when cool enough.)

etc.

The Lies We Told

by Diane Chamberlain

I have enjoyed reading a lot of Diana Chamberlain's books, and this one was no exception. Her books are almost as good as Jodi Piocolt's books, but they don't leave me emotional and wrung out at the end!

This book begins with the murder of Maya and Rebecca's parents. Maya was in the car and was to be the next victim of the gunman, but she was rescued by her sister Rebecca. Rebecca also puts college on hold and raises Maya to adulthood.

Now they are both adults, but the murder has scarred Maya and she is afraid of new things, risks, and any hint of danger. She is married and is a pediatric surgeon. She and her husband (who is a Dr. too) are trying to have a child, but she keeps miscarrying.

Rebecca is a risk taker. She is a Dr. too, but she travels to world disasters and provides medical care. She has had a lot of relationships, but she has never been serious about anyone.

Then a hurricane hits the coast of North Carolina. Rebecca and Maya's husband fly there to help. The team needs a pediatrician, and finally, even though she is terrified, Maya agrees to fly there to help.

Unfortunately, her helicopter crashes into raging floodwaters, and there appears to be no survivors. Forced to accept this, Rebecca and Adam eventually turn to one another for support and fall in love.

In the middle of no where, miles from civilization, Maya is injured and trapped with strangers. Maya must find the courage to save herself.

A Child Called It

by Dave Pelzer

I knew this was a book about child abuse, and I have avoided reading it for years. Then my youngest son and his friends read it at school. Since he's only eleven, I figured I had better read it too.

It was horrible and worse than I had imagined it. I can't understand how any mother could do the things his mother did to any child, let alone to her own. It was disgusting and inhumane, and it continued for years.

She starved him, beat him, burned him, stabbed him, and poisoned him, and etc. The father and brothers all knew about it and accepted it. They did not get him help or out of there.

The author is writing his own story. This one ends with him getting removed from his home by the school and police.

The next book is about his life in foster care. I'm not sure if I wan to read it.

This world is scary when people have the ability to harm someone else and enjoy it.

Beachcombers

by Nancy Thayer

I enjoyed this book. It is the story of three sisters: Abby, Emma, and Lily. Their mom died when Abby was fifteen, Emma 12, and Lily 7. Abby took on the mother role. Then moved to London. Emma went to college, became a stock broker, and became engaged. Lily stayed home in Nantucket and continued to live with dad.

Now, Emma is back. The stock market crashed, she lost her savings, job, & fiance. She will barely get out of bed and is seriously depressed. Lily, worried about her, asks Abby to come home. Now the three sisters have to adjust to living together again. They are also concerned because their Dad is interested in someone, for the first time, and the sisters aren't sure if they are ready to see him move on.

Each chapter is told from a different woman's point of view, and dad's new love interest was actually my favorite character. I'll definitely look for more books by this author.

Happiness Key

by Emilie Richards

I eventually liked this book, but it was very difficult to get hooked. I kept starting this book, putting it down and switching to another book, then trying again. Once I forced myself to keep reading, it was a good book.

Tracy Deloche's rich husband was sent to jail, and all of his money confiscated by the FBI. Her parents, who had trusted in him, had invested most of their savings into a business venture he was pursuing. Now they are broke too, and they definitely don't want to see their daughter, who they blame.

All she has left is twenty-five acres of land in Florida that she can't legally develop or sell that has five tumbledown beach houses with renters in four of them.

Then an elderly renter dies, and Tracy and the other renters don't know anything about him or his family because they were too busy to take the time to care. Even though they have nothing in common, they become friends through hunting for this man's family.

Quotes I liked:

"What did she care? She would take it and make something of it. That was her new mantra."

"Her parents referred to themselves as cultural Hindus, abiding by many of the traditions, accepting some of the beliefs, but not putting too fine a point on any of them. She was more free-thinking. She had learned to look for the similarities in all religions."

"She did all she could. She greeted him not like a potential serial killer, but like a boy who needed a warm welcome."

Leaving Lonely Town

by Cait London

Sable Barclay is afraid and excited about what awaits her in Wyoming. Evidence suggests that she might have been the kidnapped Langtry baby. She's head there to find out. There she meets Culley Blackwolf the ranch hand who she becomes interested in despite her intentions.

I don't read a lot of romances, but this one was good and had three distinct story lines. It also had some Native American lore.